Duality Effect
by xXWintersDescent
Summary: The galaxy is tottering on the brink of destruction from a race of mysterious synthetic beings. The geth are reappearing, their top Spectre has gone rogue, and Ambassador Udina won't stop calling. But the Council can handle all that. What they really weren't expecting...was Zierrah Shepard's shotgun-toting, biotic renegade of a little sister. ParagonShep/Kaidan, RenegadeShep/Joker.
1. So It Begins

**Duality Effect**

**Chapter 1: And So It Begins**

**Character info:**

**Zierrah Shepard - (Age: 28, Class: Infiltrator, Affiliation: Paragon, Personal History: Spacer, Military Record: War Hero)**

**Aralynn Shepard - (Age: 21, Class: Vanguard, Affiliation: Renegade, Personal History: Earthborn, Military Record: Sole Survivor)**

**A/N: Link for the cover art can be found on my profile, in case you want to see what Zierrah and Aralynn look like. :)**

**(Edit on 4/3/12: Changed Aralynn's rank to Lieutenant Commander.)**

* * *

><p>"Commander Zierrah Shepard. Says here that her parents were both exceptional soldiers. She grew up on Arcturus Station itself; earned picture-perfect records in the military academy. Orchestrated the entire Skyllian Blitz, saving thousands of lives," Captain Anderson dropped the file on the conference table with a <em>thwack<em>, causing Ambassador Udina to glare at him over his copy of _Snooty Politician Weekly_. "Sounds like we've found the perfect soldier for this mission."

"Are you sure this is the kind of person we want protecting the galaxy?"

Captain Anderson tilted his head to the side, looking confusedly at the ambassador. "Yeeeeessss," he enunciated slowly. "Having decorated war heroes protect the galaxy is generally a _good_ thing."

"I'll make the call," Ambassador Udina declared regally.

"Just one more thing. There's still an outlying issue: Commander Shepard's addendum," the Captain interjected, pointing out a sticky-note attached to the front of the file.

"What _addendum_?" Udina snarked.

"She specifically requested that her sister, Lieutenant Commander Aralynn Shepard, also be assigned to any high-profile missions she may be sent on."

"The same Aralynn Shepard who ran away from the academy to become an artist, magically appeared to claim glory in the Blitz, survived the fiasco on Akuze due to reckless driving, and became the Navy's youngest Commander only to get demoted for innumerable counts of insubordination?" Udina ranted.

Captain Anderson held up his hands in a placating gesture, "Ambassador, please recall that this was the one reward Commander Shepard _would_ accept for her bravery on Elysium. Not to mention, she managed to finagle a live-broadcasted agreement to this during the award ceremony."

"Captain! Lt. Commander Shepard is a trigger-happy loose cannon who refuses to adhere to any regulation whatsoever! The only reason she's even still _in_ the military is because she's so well known, the media would crack down on the Alliance if we _did_ fire her!"

Captain Anderson straightened his posture defiantly, "I can personally vouch that both these women are exceptional soldiers. Keeping Shepard at her current desk job smacks of disloyalty just as badly."

"Fine," the ambassador grumbled. "Now if you would be so kind as to leave my office, I must catch up on my reading." Udina promptly turned his chair around and picked up a copy of _The Idiot's Guide to Annoying Your Co-workers_.

Captain Anderson sighed as he made his way to the Normandy's conference room. He could hear the bickering all the way from the mess hall. The yelling built up in volume, until it reached a crescendo that certainly didn't befit a couple of commanding officers. Suddenly, a loud, very expensive-sounding crash rang through the air.

It was quickly followed by a loud cry of, "If you heard that, Cap'n, I didn't do it!"

Captain Anderson shook his head, barely repressing an amused grin. Despite their rather quirky personalities, he was very pleased to have both sisters on his crew. The Shepards had been family friends for years. He knew that if the girls were even half the soldiers their parents were, the aggravation would be well worth it.

Footsteps sounded from the staircase. _Ah, here they come_.

The two figures that emerged were unmistakable. Zierrah was the very paragon of Alliance soldierhood. She was immaculately dressed in military-issue fatigues and had her coppery brown hair swept into a neat bun. Her gentle blue eyes were rimmed with just enough makeup to be feminine, but professional. The elder Shepard stood ramrod-straight, exuding both authority and kindness at the same time.

The other, however, was like a converse image of her sister. Aralynn sported a pair of Alliance-issue black cargo pants and a matching tank top, though she had also added a studded belt to the mix. She didn't carry the usual weapons kit, but simply had a pistol at her hip and two shotguns strapped in an X-formation on her back. Her striking purple eyes were liberally framed by mascara and red eyeshadow, and her jet-black hair lay shaggy and loose across her shoulders. Truth be told, she looked more like a mercenary than an Alliance officer.

At the moment, she was slumped forward with her arms crossed, attention focused solely on her sister. Zierrah was, by the looks of it, in the middle of a lecture on protocol.

"You should at least _try_ to take your career seriously! It's not hard to remember that while we're on duty, I'm not your sister. I am your immediate commanding officer and should be treated with respect."

"You know, I'm pretty sure that most officers and subordinates _don't_ share an apartment. Or parentage, for that matter."

"Don't remind me," Zierrah muttered. "Now, do I make myself clear?"

Aralynn smiled slyly and fired off a mock salute. "Crystal. Oh, and by the way, _Commander_?"

"Yes?" Zierrah replied warily. She didn't like the too-innocent tone her sister was using.

"I dropped your toothbrush in the toilet this morning. Ma'am."

Zierrah's eye twitched. Aralynn simply smirked and flounced off towards the cockpit, extracting a cherry-flavored lollipop from her pocket as she went.

"That girl is pure evil, I tell you," Zierrah muttered to Navigator Pressly. She shouldered past the turian Spectre, Nihlus, and entered the cockpit just in time to catch the dregs of a rather furtive conversation.

"Besides, Spectres are trouble and I don't like having him on board. Call me paranoid," Joker muttered as he checked the Normandy's flight stats.

In the co-pilot seat, Kaidan gave a not-so-subtle roll of the eyes. "You're paranoid. It's just a precaution; the Alliance has the right to put whoever they want on this ship."

"Sure, that's the _official_ story."

Aralynn cut in, "Yep, and only an idiot believes the official story." She rolled her lollipop to the other side of her mouth, taking a moment to think. "This whole thing has 'hidden agenda' written all over it. In bright red marker. I mean, I can understand adding a crew, but the Spectre was a dead giveaway."

"Hey there, Commander," Kaidan respectfully nodded toward Zierrah.

"Lieutenant," she replied. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Rest assured, I'll do everything in my power to find out what's going on. Just focus on your own responsibilities and everything will be fine."

The cockpit's intercom suddenly flashed to life. "Status report," Captain Anderson ordered.

Aralynn zoned out, instantly becoming hypnotized by the cockpit's flashing lights. Her mind was just not built to accommodate tech lingo; she usually retreated into her own little world to avoid listening to it. Though she was unaware of it, some minutes passed before she was hurtled into reality once more.

"Oh, and you better brace yourself, Captain. I think Nihlus is headed your way."

"He's already here, Lieutenant," the captain snapped. "Just tell Staff Commander and Lt. Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room."

"I'm on my way," Zierrah spoke into the intercom.

Aralynn took the lollipop out of her mouth and pushed away from the wall she'd been leaning on. With her free hand, she playfully smacked Joker upside the head. "Ooh, you pissed him off. Now we're gonna have to deal with Hurricane Anderson," she sing-songed.

"Hey, it's not my fault! The captain always sounds like that when he's talking to me."

"I can't imagine why," Kaidan muttered.

Aralynn snorted, "Hey, c'mon. It takes a _lot_ of innovation to constantly annoy these military types." She turned to leave, tossing a spare lollipop Joker's way. "See ya, boys."

Once Aralynn was out of earshot, Kaidan whispered, "Is it just me, or is there something a bit…off…about her?"

"Eh, you're just jealous that she likes me better."

* * *

><p>Zierrah shifted her weight from foot to foot, impatiently waiting for her sister to finish talking. Corporal Jenkins had just flagged her down for a conversation, and was now ranting about the onboard Spectre.<p>

"It's just that…this could be my big chance, you know? I've never worked with a Spectre before!"

Aralynn shot him a knowing smirk. "Just do your job, follow my orders, and there won't be any problems," she replied, the playful lilt in her voice taking the sting out of her words.

She and Jenkins went way back. They'd met the very first day Aralynn enlisted and had a playful rivalry going on ever since. Her promotion to Lt. Commander after Akuze had him constantly on the prowl for his own 'big break'.

"Aralynn, may I remind you that we have a meeting. You know, the one we were supposed to be at five minutes ago," Zierrah cut in.

"Alright, alright," Aralynn groaned. "Catch you later, Corporal."

The two sisters walked into the conference room side-by-side. Nihlus was standing at the very end, with his back to them.

"Yo, Nihlus," Aralynn greeted him brusquely. "Where's the Cap'n at?"

"He said he'd meet us here," Zierrah explained.

"He'll be here in a bit," Nihlus replied. "In the meantime, I'd like to talk with you two."

Zierrah chose to remain standing, arms crossed in a professional manner. Aralynn flopped into a seat and leaned back, crossing her ankles atop one another. "Yeah? What about?" she asked.

"Have you ever been to Eden Prime? I hear it's quite beautiful."

"I wouldn't know," Zierrah replied matter-of-factly. "Never been there."

Aralynn scoffed, "We're marines, not some freaking tourists." Zierrah shot her 'the look', and she reluctantly quieted down. Aralynn found herself zoning out again after Nihlus launched into a monologue about humanity's role in the Council, coming back to reality only when Captain Anderson finally entered the room. She hated discussing politics almost as much as she hated discussing technology.

"Commanders," he nodded at the two in turn. "I do believe there's something you need to know about our mission to Eden Prime. It's not an ordinary shakedown run."

Zierrah nodded respectfully, "I gathered as much, sir."

Aralynn scoffed, "Duh. I figured that out ten minutes ago and I haven't even been paying attention to half the things people have been whining to me about."

"Anyway," the captain continued, "We've recently unearthed a Prothean beacon on Eden Prime and are on our way to pick it up-" Zierrah absorbed every bit of information, taking time to nod every now and then, but Aralynn just stared at the wall behind the captain's head. Inwardly, she ranted, _My gosh, what is it with people here and lengthy monologues?_

Suddenly, the intercom crackled to life. "Receiving transmission, Captain. It's from the ground team on Eden Prime. I think you really need to see this."

Captain Anderson ordered, "Play it back, Joker."

The group of four stood in silence as they watched the plea for help. Aralynn could tell her sister was trying to keep a brave face as they observed the marines being decimated. She, on the other hand, let her own pixie-like features array themselves into a scowl.

When the video paused and centered on a strange, claw-shaped machine hovering in the air, her interest was immediately piqued.

"Cap'n, _please_ tell me we get to go and nuke that thing," she requested, anger saturating her tone. The squad dispatched to Eden Prime hadn't even been intended for combat; they were just a security detail. Whoever thought they could waltz in and simply zap them off the face of the planet _definitely_ had another thing coming. Aralynn, in particular, hoped that "thing" would be her.

Joker interrupted, "We're seventeen minutes out; no other Alliance ships in the area. Captain?"

Captain Anderson sighed, "Take us in. As for you, Shepard, the priority here is retrieving the beacon."

"But…" Aralynn intoned, the unspoken protest hanging in the air between them.

The captain let out a longer sigh. "But once that's finished, you may attack the enemy ship if you like. Provided that if – and _only_ if – no civilian or troop casualties will result, and the ship is still in the vicinity."

Aralynn looked affronted for a moment. "Why Cap'n, I can't believe you would think me so reckless!" Behind her, Zierrah looked back at the screen to mask an eye-roll.

"At any rate," Captain Anderson quickly changed the subject. "You may be wondering why Nihlus is here. Truth be told, he put your names forward to be inducted into the Spectres. He's here to evaluate your performance."

Zierrah looked completely awestruck. "It would be an honor, sir. Anything I can do to help the Alliance-"

"Like hell he will!" Aralynn interrupted. "I dunno about _her_," she said, pointing to Zierrah, "but I don't like people making decisions about my future."

"Shepard, this isn't about you! Humanity needs this, and, at the moment, you're the best we've got."

"Since _when_?" Aralynn exclaimed. "Last I checked, I just tote shotguns around and throw things with my biotic powers!"

The captain let out an almost inhumanely long sigh, "Well, you're very good at what you do, and if both your experiences on Elysium and Akuze can testify, you two can withstand things most ordinary people can't."

"It's true," Nihlus added. "Both of you demonstrate a remarkable will to survive, which is a very useful skill in this line of work."

Aralynn still looked hesitant despite Zierrah's pointed nudging, so Captain Anderson decided to appeal to her own personal brand of logic.

"You get diplomatic immunity, access to Council funds, and free black-and-red armor like the set Nihlus is wearing right now."

"Deal."

* * *

><p>"Alright, ladies, the mission is all yours," Captain Anderson yelled over the roar of the engines. "Good luck!"<p>

"You can count on us, sir!" Zierrah replied, firing off a quick salute. She turned to her team and gave a 'move out' signal.

Aralynn nodded and sprinted toward the hangar door. She jumped out head-first, whooping as she flew spread-eagle through the air and parachuted down to the ground. Three _thuds_ behind her signaled that the rest of the team had landed as well.

She removed her helmet and shook out her hair, tying it into a rough ponytail at the back of her head. Gunfire sounded in the distance, and Aralynn was itching to join the fight.

Kaidan pointed at some strange, mutant-looking creatures floating above a nearby pond. "What are those things?" he asked incredulously.

Jenkins replied, "Gas bags. Don't worry, they're harmless." Suddenly, three shots rang through the air and the creatures disappeared in a plume of green smoke. Everyone turned to look at Aralynn, who was still holding her shotgun aloft.

"Whaaaaat?" she asked innocently. "Just a little target practice."

"Let's try not to give away our position next time," Zierrah reprimanded her. "We're supposed to go in _quietly_ and extract the beacon. Got it?"

"Oh man," Kaidan exclaimed, drawing both officers' attention. "Commander, you need to see this." He was standing over a rock, where two charred, skeletal figures were sprawled across its' blackened surface.

"Yup, I guess it's safe to say there are hostiles nearby," Aralynn said.

Zierrah quickly motioned for the team to crouch. "Stay on your guard," she ordered. They slowly advanced into a meadow, hiding behind a rock for cover. After scoping out the area, Zierrah gave the signal for Jenkins to take point. The minute he stepped out into the open, however, a drone popped out from behind a rock and began firing, nailing the hapless soldier square in the chest.

Zierrah barked, "Man down! Take cover!" She quickly positioned her sniper rifle on top of a rock. It was difficult to get a lock on one of the drones, as erratically as they were flying. Kaidan crouched next to her, periodically leaning up and firing off shots with his pistol. The drones were too far away to be affected by any biotic or tech attacks.

Aralynn muttered, "If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself." She raised a biotic shield and charged at the drones, firing madly with her shotgun. Those pieces of floating scrap metal had just taken out the last person in this galaxy that she could call a friend. Now, it was payback time. Adrenaline and fury pumping through her veins, she jumped right under the closest drone and pumped bullets straight into its' core. Above her, a sniper round whizzed past and incinerated one of the drones. She heard Kaidan moving up behind her, and sure enough, the final drone overloaded. Shrapnel flew through the air and scored her bare cheek, but she paid it no mind.

Two drones came flying over the nearest hill. Aralynn pushed out her arms, hands formed into claws. A biotic vortex appeared; the drones were immediately swept into the circle of dark matter. She quickly swung her arms downward, slamming the drones into the ground. Still incensed, she ran up to them and ground the metal remains under her heel. She continued stomping on the remnants of scrap metal until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"_What_, Alenko?" she yelled, whirling around and slapping his hand away.

"It's Jenkins, ma'am. The shots ripped right through his shields. Poor guy never even stood a chance," he said apologetically.

Aralynn looked over his shoulder, where Zierrah was kneeling down to close her friend's eyelids. So, it was true; he really was dead. For a moment, her stomach lurched with sorrow. She closed her eyes and looked away from the scene; her mind suddenly assaulted by images locked away long ago.

_Red sand in my eyes. Corrosive acid pooling in scattered tire tracks. My whole platoon, lying cold and unmoving all around me as night fell. Freezing wind sweeping over me, almost as numbingly cold as the dog tags in my hand. So alone…so empty…_

Aralynn's eyes snapped open and she caught herself just in time, painfully swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat. There would be time to break down later; she owed it to Jenkins, if not the rest of her late squad, to keep a clear head, stay alive, and complete the mission.

She took a deep breath and steeled herself. He wasn't coming back. Her squadmates on Akuze weren't coming back. All she could do now was tough it out and move forward. "Marines die," she derided Kaidan. "It happens. Now come on; we can't let this affect the mission." She turned on her heel, leaving a very shell-shocked Kaidan in her wake.

Little did he know, they were never _just_ Marines. They were friends, they were people with hopes and dreams and futures; people that she'd failed to protect. She wasn't angry at them, nor was she angry at him. She was just…angry. Even so, Aralynn would just as soon own a troupe of tap-dancing hanar than talk to anyone regarding _feelings_.

Zierrah came up and tapped Kaidan on the shoulder. "I'll personally see to it that he gets a proper memorial. A transport will come later to pick him up." His eyes flickered to the raging woman ahead of them, and she caught on to his train of thought. "Don't take it personally, Alenko," she added. "She's like that with everyone. Look on the bright side, though – at least the rest of this mission should pretty straightforward."

* * *

><p>"What do you mean, <em>the artifact must have been taken?<em>" Aralynn hissed.

Kaidan explained dutifully, "Well, I assume it means exactly what it sounds like-"

"SILENCE, MINION!"

"…Yes, ma'am."

Zierrah looked at Kaidan sympathetically. She pretty much sympathized with anyone under her sister's command. They often ended up taking the brunt of her frustration, especially in difficult situations such as this.

She took a careful step toward Aralynn and ordered, "Aralynn, just calm down and we'll figure everything out. You don't have to get angry yet."

Aralynn's eye twitched as she turned to address her sister. "My friend's just been shot by an evil robot, the beacon is _gone_, and I _cannot fit a freaking cherry lollipop inside this helmet_…you better believe I have the right to be angry right now!" she ranted.

Ashley looked confusedly from person to person. "Is she always like that?" she asked, pointing to Aralynn.

Zierrah groaned, "You have no idea."

Aralynn moodily kicked the ground where the beacon had once stood. "Ah, screw this," she muttered. "I'm gonna find me that beacon." She swung her shotgun up into her hand and stomped up a nearby hill, all the while muttering about wanting Spectre armor.

Ashley blinked a couple of times. "I'm going to die," she announced matter-of-factly. "I am _so_ going to die before this mission is over."

The trio trekked up the hill, following in Aralynn's wake. Zierrah quickly caught up and took point, with Kaidan covering their six o' clock.

"Careful. This looks like a good place for an ambush," he warned.

"There's nobody around," Aralynn said blankly.

"Hence the term _ambush_," Kaidan shot back.

Aralynn turned to him, eyes narrowed in frustration. "Listen, lieutenant, if you don't shape up right now, I swear I'll-"

"Oh? With all due respect, _ma'am-_"

"Will you two be quiet and look?" Zierrah interrupted. She placed her hands on Kaidan and Aralynn's heads, turning them in the direction of the camp. Several metal spikes began to lower to the ground. Atop these spikes lay circuit-covered humanoid figures, whose eyes began to glow with a haunting blue light.

"Whoa," Kaidan breathed.

"They're still alive," Zierrah whispered in horror.

"Oh my gosh…what did the geth _do_ to them?" Ashley cried.

"Sweet! Robot zombies!" Aralynn cheered with an open-mouthed grin.

The husks charged at them with feral snarls, metallic hands raised and formed into claws. Zierrah and Kaidan unleashed a wave of electronic attacks on the first two, shorting out their shields, after which Ashley finished them off with automatic fire. Aralynn ran straight at the third one and hurled it to the ground with her biotics. She pounced into the air, pumping two shots into its' metallic chassis as she flew by.

"Double tap!" she announced.

Zierrah signaled for silence, then motioned Aralynn to storm the sheds just ahead. Aralynn nodded and crept toward the sheds with catlike grace. If there was anything she learned from her horror movie addiction, it was that entering sheds in a zombie-infested area was serious business.

She approached the left shed and crouched by the entryway, both shotguns drawn and ready for action.

"Shouldn't we help her, ma'am?" Kaidan whispered to Zierrah.

"Just let her do her thing."

Quick as lightning, Aralynn kicked the door down and spun around, pointing her shotguns at the shed's interior. "It's clean," she called, stooping down to gather some upgrade containers. She tossed them to Ashley as she made her way to the second shed. This time, she fiddled with her omni-tool for a second to hack the door lock. Although the door would have slid open quite smoothly, she kicked it down anyway.

"We got survivors!" Aralynn shouted, lowering her weapons. Zierrah, Ashley, and Kaidan rushed into the tiny shed, promptly squishing Aralynn against the wall. She squirmed out of their crowding presence and resumed her former intimidating pose. Inside the shed stood a panicked-looking researcher and her assistant, who was quietly rocking back and forth while talking to himself.

"Oh, thank goodness, another human! We were beginning to think help would never arrive!" the researcher exclaimed.

"You're safe now, miss," Zierrah assured her gently. "Just hold on a little longer, and we'll make sure the Alliance sends a rescue squad for you."

The assistant's jittery gaze finally settled on them. Apparently, he'd only _just_ noticed that a squad of marines had kicked down the door. He began running around in circles and shouting, "It is too late! The end for humanity is near; who can stop the flood once all the events are set into motion?"

Aralynn spared the researcher an uncertain look. "Is he on allergy medication or something?"

The researcher waved a hand and replied, "Don't worry. My assistant is a brilliant man, just a little…unstable. I've given him a mild sedative that should take effect soon. He's not usually like this; but, as they say, genius and madness are two sides of the same coin."

Her assistant piped up again, "Is it madness to speak the truth? How do I know I'm not the only sane one here?" He strode up to Aralynn and demanded, "And you! Where did you put my milkshake? I know you have it! We are doomed without its' creamy goodness!"

Aralynn glanced from side-to-side nervously, "Ummm…"

He grabbed her shoulders and whisper-shouted, "And the pickles…and the pickles…and the _pickles_!"

She let a long-suffering sigh out of her nose and looked heavenward. "Oh, for the love of-" Her fist was promptly introduced to his nose.

The researcher screamed in horror, "Wha-! What did you do _that_ for?"

"Other than the reason he was stark-raving mad?" Aralynn drawled, clearly unimpressed.

"Really, ma'am, wasn't that just a little extreme?" Kaidan commented.

"Isn't your face just a little extreme?" she shot back petulantly.

"Okay, now that's just uncalled-for!"

"Your face is uncalled-for."

"Alright, now that is enough!" Zierrah shouted, stepping in between the two. "Good Lord, it's just like commanding a group of three-year-olds with firearms! Williams…just lead us to wherever the hell the beacon is, _now_."

"Yes, ma'am," Ashley replied.

* * *

><p>"You know, there's a <em>reason<em> I never signed up for bomb squad!" Aralynn bellowed. She whirled out from behind the crate and sent a wave of biotic energy toward the oncoming geth. They were still too far away, and the attack dissipated into thin air. Ashley took her place and began peppering them with heavy fire.

Behind her, Zierrah was busily sorting through the mess of wires inside the bomb's shell. She snapped, "Lt. Commander, will you please just shut up and clear the way? We've only got about a minute and a half till these things explode!"

"I'm _trying_! Why don't you give it a shot, then?" she yelled back. Zierrah turned around and gave her 'the look' again. Aralynn rolled her eyes and grumbled, "Fine. Alenko, be a dear and draw their fire, will you?"

"Yes, ma'am," Kaidan said. He raised a biotic shield and edged out into the open, letting loose a volley of pistol rounds. Aralynn dodged over the concrete slab she had been using for cover and ran, sliding on her knees until she was right between the two geth. She let loose another wave of biotic energy, sending one over the railing and knocking the other unconscious.

She smoothly removed her shotgun from its holster and fired two precision shots at a fuel container. It exploded, blowing away the geth at the end of the platform. Aralynn lowered her shotgun and smirked almost appreciatively. "Nice cover fire, Alenko. I should use you as a human shield more often," she said.

Kaidan gulped audibly. "I'll take that as a compliment, ma'am."

Zierrah sprinted past both of them, racing to get to the final bomb. Her omnitool was out before she even skidded to a stop; fingers dancing across the glowing orange surface. At long last, she let out a sigh of relief and slumped against the bomb's metal casing. "This one's dead," she announced. "Remind me to give you all a crash course in decryption when we get back to the Normandy. There is no way I'm deactivating four bombs by myself ever again."

Aralynn snorted. "Ah, what would we do without our own personal techie nerd? Comes complete with sniper rifle and everything."

"Can it, Aralynn," Zierrah intoned. Her blood ran cold as a metallic shriek sounded from the stairwell below.

"We got hostiles," Kaidan said, looking at his omnitool.

"I call dibs on the husks," Aralynn called out. She crouched behind her sister, who was propping her sniper rifle on the top of a crate – and not a moment too soon. A geth trooper came barreling up the stairs, right into the path of Zierrah's scope. It was felled in one shot.

Ashley rolled into a crouch next to the railing. Swiveling around, she peppered another trooper with automatic fire until its' shields were depleted. A few taps of Zierrah's omnitool, and the cyborg overloaded in a shower of sparks and oil.

Now that the coast was clear, Aralynn leapt over the crate and took point. Even before she reached the bottom step, she could see three glowing blue figures shuffling toward her. Her mind retreated into battle mode, where there was nothing but her, the husks, and pure instinct. It wasn't unlike playing her bass guitar – you didn't think about which notes to play, you just knew how and you _did_ it.

Subconsciously, she began to count a beat in her head; she could almost hear the thrum of the imaginary bass line.

_One_… Her shotgun snapped forward and a shot sailed through the air, downing the husk with a solid headshot.

_Two…_A biotic vortex spawned on the far end, hurling the second husk into the air.

_Three…_Aralynn twirled around and rifle-butted the last husk before it could pounce on her. The torque was strong enough to send it flying back a few meters, twitching sporadically.

_Four_. The shotgun slid back into its holster without missing a beat.

Four seconds. It was all over in four seconds. Aralynn swaggered out to the middle of the docking port, satisfied with her handiwork.

Before her sat the Prothean beacon they'd been sent to retrieve. Sure, it had come at the expense of Jenkins, Nihlus, and Ashley's entire unit – but Aralynn was a survivor, and in time, she would pay her respects to the fallen. For now, though, she would bask in the glory of victory and the adrenaline rush of a battle well fought.

Zierrah immediately began talking on her communicator, letting Captain Anderson know that the mission had been a success. As she passed by, Aralynn felt something cold and metallic press into her palm. She furrowed her brow and opened her hand, palm-up.

_Jenkins' dog tags._Aralynn's eyes snapped up and met her sister's. Zierrah was still mumbling mission details into her communicator, but she spared a sympathetic smile over her shoulder. Aralynn returned the smile and mouthed the words 'thank you'.

She turned away and spared a quick glance at Ashley. The gunnery chief was hanging back, nodding halfheartedly as Kaidan gushed over the beacon. Aralynn felt a pang of sympathy – a small one, but it was there nonetheless – for her fellow soldier. She remembered, all too well, how it felt to lose your entire unit and be helpless to do anything about it. Even now, the despair, grief, and self-blame plagued her mind to the point of near-insanity.

"Hey Williams," she called out. Aralynn mentally winced at how brusque her tone sounded. She really wasn't used to the whole 'shoulder to cry on' act, but she'd do her best.

Ashley looked up in surprise. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Hey, um," Aralynn began nervously, "I know exactly how you feel right now-"

"Right, you were on Akuze."

"Yeah. Look…just hang in there. I'm not gonna lie; you'll feel like total crap the first few days, but the pain does go away with time. Kind of like ripping off a bandage. You're not gonna like it, but you have to get through it, you know?" Aralynn knew it was a lousy pep talk, but Ashley smiled nonetheless.

"Thanks, ma'am," she said. Her eyes flicked to a spot over Aralynn's shoulder, and she abruptly called out, "Kaidan! Careful, you don't know what that thing will do!"

Aralynn turned around to see Kaidan wandering toward the beacon, inspecting it curiously. "Alenko!" she barked. "You better not damage the goods, or let me tell ya, there'll be hell to pay."

Kaidan protested, "But I'm not even touching it! How could I possibly break it?"

"I'm sure you'll find a way," Aralynn said dryly. "Now, back it up."

The beacon began to glow with an unearthly blue light. Kaidan barely had time to let out a cry of surprise before he began sliding helplessly toward the artifact. It didn't matter how hard he dug his heels in or how much he flailed – the thing was drawing him in, and it wasn't letting go.

Out of nowhere, Zierrah dove into Kaidan's path and tackled him. She used the momentum to pivot around, throwing the lieutenant out of harm's way with an almighty cry. However, she now found herself being dragged backwards, trapped by the beacon's strange magnetic field.

"Sis!" Aralynn shrieked. Without thinking, she ran forward and threw her arms around her sister's waist in an attempt to weigh her down. It was no use. Both women were swept into the air, suspended a foot above the dock's metal floors.

Aralynn's head felt like it was going to explode. Thoughts, information, memories, and images rushed into her mind like a tidal wave; a constant barrage of information that was almost too massive to process. She wanted to scream, to stop the data from flooding her brain, but there was nothing she could do. Panic coursed through her as she realized she was completely helpless, at the mercy of an alien device that she knew absolutely nothing about.

Suddenly, the strange current around her ceased to exist. With it went the magnetic field keeping her aloft. For a single disconcerting moment, she found herself floating in complete blackness.

Then the floor abruptly swung up to meet her side. Aralynn's head made contact with something cold and hard, even as her entire left side began to throb unrelentingly. She tried opening her eyes, but to no avail. Everything was a blurry mass, swimming in a myriad of colors and faraway sounds. Her limbs felt sluggish and numb; unconsciousness would not be too far off.

One final thought flitted across her mind.

_Oh, Alenko is SO_ _going to pay for this._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So there you have it. Thanks to writtenrhythm for beta reading this chapter, and suggesting some changes to make Aralynn a little more...shall we say, tolerable. XD (Yeah, I know I cheated a little by giving her the ability to do biotic singularities when she's just a Vanguard, but hey, it's AU.) Don't worry, she may be full-on Renegade but she has some redeeming qualities. :)<strong>

**So, liked it? Loved it? Any observations on the characters? What do you think is going to happen when she wakes up? .**

**Review please! :3**


	2. A Perfect Fiasco

Chapter 2 – A Perfect Fiasco

Soundtrack:

Chora's Den Battle – Bad Reputation by Joan Jett

Rescuing the Quarian – It's Not A Fashion Statement, It's a Deathwish by My Chemical Romance

* * *

><p><em>Am I dead? Is this heaven?<em>

Aralynn grimaced, trying to muddle through the fog in her brain and figure out what was going on. Her head was pounding so hard that it took her several minutes just to form those two coherent thoughts. Tired of being incapacitated, she shoved herself up into a sitting position. The room began spinning madly, and she buried her face in her hands.

She heard Kaidan speak up from somewhere behind her. "Doctor? Doctor Chakwas, I think she's waking up."

Aralynn groaned. _Nope. Definitely not heaven._

Kaidan's hulking form came into focus right in front of her. He asked softly, "Ma'am? Do you recall what happened on Eden Prime? I'm afraid it's my fault that you're in here. I activated the beacon by accident, remember-" He was promptly cut off as Aralynn snarled and lunged for him. "Whoa!" he yelled, backing up and toppling over a tray of medical supplies. Doctor Chakwas had to step in and bodily restrain the rampaging soldier.

"Let me at him!" Aralynn screeched, her arms clawing the air in Kaidan's direction. Lucky for him, though, the good doctor was much stronger than she looked.

"Lt. Commander Shepard, stop struggling this instant!" Doctor Chakwas ordered. Instead of complying, though, Aralynn only thrashed harder. A blue glow flared around her as she prepared to unleash a biotic attack. The lieutenant was now perched atop Chakwas' desk, scrambling back against the wall and looking utterly terrified.

Suddenly, Aralynn gave a small yelp and crumpled to the floor at Chakwas' feet, groaning and cradling her head. The doctor simply sighed and hauled her back onto the medical bed. "I would advise against that, Shepard. Trying to activate your biotics while you have a headache is never a good idea," she said.

"_Now_ you tell me," Aralynn muttered.

"How do you feel?"

Aralynn's stomach lurched. "Like the morning after shore leave," she managed to reply.

"You obviously feel well enough to brawl, so I'll assume you're going to be just fine," Chakwas said with a smile.

"Pfft. I'm _always_ up for a good brawl," Aralynn quipped.

In the next bed over, Zierrah began to stir. She slowly sat up and groaned, "Augh, what happened?"

"Skippy over here," Aralynn pointed to Kaidan, "activated the beacon and knocked us unconscious. Any more rhetorical questions?"

"Hey, hey," Zierrah said, her voice dulled by pain as she cradled her head. "He couldn't have known that the beacon would do that. Accidents happen; you shouldn't crack down on him so hard."

"Thank you, ma'am," Kaidan said. The relief was apparent in his voice. Usually, knocking your commanding officer unconscious was not something so easily forgiven.

"Yeah, accidents happen, Mr. Why-Don't-I-Approach-The-Smoking-Piece-Of-Alien-Technology-And-See-What-It-Does," Aralynn scoffed. "He endangered the entire freaking mission and you're going to just let him go like that?"

Zierrah commanded, "I told you to let it go, Aralynn. Look on the bright side; now that it's apparent what that beacon can do, maybe now the science teams can take proper precautions for studying it."

"I don't think there'll be much opportunity for study anymore," Chakwas cut in. "The beacon exploded shortly after it was activated. "

Aralynn clenched her jaw and turned, very slowly, to look at Kaidan. "You mean to tell me that the entire mission is now a _failure_?" she spat at him. _So much for avenging Jenkins and Ashley's squad_, she thought angrily. She felt completely and utterly useless in that moment. It was a feeling she did not take kindly to.

Conveniently, Captain Anderston strode into the room just then, smiling at the two sisters. Aralynn calmed down somewhat; the captain was the closest thing she had to a father figure, not to mention the only one of her superiors she _did_ respect. It was near-impossible for her to stay angry when he was around.

"Glad to see you ladies are up and about," Captain Anderson greeted them. "I would like to have a word with you, if possible."

Kaidan got the hint and nodded respectfully. "Aye sir," he said, and headed toward the door alongside Chakwas.

"This concerns the beacon you two found," Captain Anderson began. "What little data we do have suggests it was an ancient data transmitter. Tell me, did you see anything during your time on Eden Prime?"

Aralynn was the first to speak up. "I dreamed of war," she said, her voice uncharacteristically quiet. "Of robots fighting organics, with a few epic explosions thrown in there too. Altogether, not something unusual for _my_ dreams, but in this case I think it might be a vision or something."

"I agree," Zierrah said. "I saw the exact same thing; maybe it's a glimpse of the past...or the future. You think those robots were geth?"

"Dunno, they were just flashes of imagery. It's too fuzzy for me to make any sense of it," Aralynn replied.

Captain Anderson interrupted, "At any rate, it was important enough for Saren to team up with the geth. I don't need to tell you how dangerous this is; Saren _hates_ humans. And whatever he may have found...there might be a chance that he'd use it to wipe out all of humanity. Even Earth wouldn't be safe."

"Don't you worry, Cap'n. I'll take him down," Aralynn said. "Saren and I have a score to settle anyway."

Zierrah spoke up, "It's not going to be that simple. We need concrete evidence that proves he's working with the geth." She turned to Captain Anderson, "What about the vision we had, sir? Could it be used as proof?"

Aralynn rolled her eyes. "Yeah, let's go tell the Council we had a bad dream. What next, are we gonna petition them for a hug and a cookie?"

"She _is_ right, Shepard," Anderson said. "We're going to need real, tangible evidence here. Don't worry about it right now; we'll work out the particulars once we've docked. In the meantime, would you mind going and telling Joker to bring us in to port?"

"You got it ," Aralynn replied. Just as she turned to head out the door, she suddenly stopped and remembered something. "By the way, whatever happened to that Williams chick we teamed up with?"

"She's been added to the crew roster. I believe it's about time the ship got its' own gunnery chief, and besides, we could always use soldiers like her on the crew."

Aralynn smiled, "Yeah? Well then, I guess I'll go have a chat with her before I stop by the bridge. See ya, Cap'n." She headed into the mess hall, where Ashley was leaning against a corner and staring at the floor absentmindedly. The soldier looked up in surprise when she approached.

"Ma'am," Ashley said, quickly snapping to attention.

"Hey, none of that," Aralynn waved her off. "So, I heard you're part of the crew now. 'Least _something_good came out of that mess on Eden Prime."

"Thank you, ma'am. With all due respect, though, I don't think the mission went too badly," Ashley replied, sounding almost apologetic.

"Please," Aralynn scoffed. "It was like a freaking casualty-fest down there. Not to mention SOMEBODY," her voice rose in volume and she turned around to glare at Kaidan, "turned the beacon into an impromptu fireworks display!"

"Mondays," Ashley sighed. "Gotta hate 'em."

Aralynn turned back to her, an amused grin making its' way onto her face. "Walk with me, Williams," she said, nodding her head towards the stairs. "I've got to get a message to the bridge."

"Aye aye, ma'am." As the two women began to climb the stairs leading to the bridge, Ashley piped up, "Hey ma'am, I've noticed you tend to favor a shotgun over the standard-issue assault rifle. Mind if I ask why? I've been thinking about making the switch myself."

Aralynn smirked and clapped the other soldier over the back. "Y'know what, Williams? I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

* * *

><p>"How are you holding up?" Zierrah asked, leaning against one of the mess hall's support beams.<p>

"Fine," Kaidan replied. His haunted eyes flicked up to meet hers. "It...was pretty rough down there. I know the crew is taking Jenkins' loss pretty hard...the Lt. Commander, especially." He glanced over to where Aralynn was talking with Ashley. "I hope you don't mind me saying, ma'am, but I can't for the life of me remember _what_ I did to make her hate me."

"She's just grieving, Lieutenant. I'm sure she doesn't hate you," Zierrah tried to reassure him.

"No, no. She hates me."

"Yeah," Zierrah drawled. She and the lieutenant shared a smile, almost as if the feud was a rather twisted inside-joke. "I can talk to her if you'd like."

"What, and give her a reason to actually hate me?" Kaidan quipped. "No, really, it's fine. I think we all just need some time to cope with everything...you know, to heal."

Zierrah nodded, not sure what else to say at this point. She always made it a habit to maintain eye contact with whomever she was speaking to; but for some reason, his dark brown eyes seemed to unnerve her, make her mind go completely blank. She took a step back and excused herself, "Well… I think I better go. The captain said we'll be docking soon. But, um, if you need anything, you know where to find me."

"Will do, ma'am."

Zierrah smiled and headed towards the stairwell.

* * *

><p>"Enjoy your nap, ma'am?" Joker asked, as Aralynn maneuvered herself into the co-pilot seat. Ashley stood behind her, looking out the window as they flew through the nebula.<p>

"Oh, teehee. In the meantime, will you guys stop calling me 'ma'am' already? Makes me feel old," Aralynn said, propping her feet up on the dashboard. "Just call me Aralynn, or Shepard, if you like. But, just so you know…anyone who calls me 'Sheppy' is in for a world of hurt."

Joker raised an eyebrow amusedly. Well, _that_ was definitely different. Not that he didn't appreciate a commanding officer who had an actual sense of humor; he'd seen enough of the rank-and-file military brass to last a lifetime. "Oh, darn," he replied, snapping his fingers. "And 'Sheppy' just had such a nice ring to it." He just chuckled and turned back to the controls when Aralynn teasingly brandished her fist at him.

"Yeah, yeah. Just bring us in, flyboy," Aralynn said, not bothering to hide her own smirk.

"You got it, Shepard." He pushed forward on the controls, directing the Normandy below the Citadel's cloud cover. The wispy layer of white parted to reveal a breathtakingly large station, large enough to be a small planet in itself. Hundreds, if not thousands, of starships orbited around it in a spectacular light display; giving the whole scene an ethereal sense.

Joker leaned forward and pointed to the largest ship, a decidedly alien-looking craft that bore an eerie resemblance to a tree stump. "And that, ladies, is the _Destiny Ascension_. Largest ship on the Citadel, and powerful to take out the Alliance's entire fleet."

"Well then, I'm glad it's on our side," Ashley piped up.

"Meanwhile, would you look at that city," Aralynn said, gaping in wonder at the metropolis below. "Imagine having a shore leave _there_," she murmured, trying to keep herself from drooling at the thought of how many clubs and restaurants such a place could hold. She was definitely going to have a talk with Anderson later about the therapeutic benefits of shore leave, or whatever.

Fidgeting impatiently, Aralynn all but jumped out of her seat when the docking clamps finally secured around the Normandy's hull. _Yep_, she thought as she moved to stand by the airlock, _this is going to be fun._

Zierrah came up next, followed by Kaidan and Captain Anderson. Motioning for Ashley to join them, the captain addressed his ground team, "All right now, I've arranged an appointment with Ambassador Udina. It's more than possible that we'll also be meeting with some rather…high-class individuals during our time on the Citadel. So please, try to be diplomatic."

* * *

><p>Zierrah sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. A headache was well on its way, and the florescent lights and pounding music in Chora's Den was <em>not<em> helping at all. Nor was the latest scene Aralynn was creating. This time, she had to be bodily restrained by both Kaidan and Ashley. Still, she continued to thrash about, struggling to get her forearms within reach of her shotgun holsters.

"Don't you _dare_ talk to my sister like that!" she snarled at Harkin, repeatedly stomping on Kaidan's foot in an attempt to make him let her go. The lieutenant, wearing a red-faced, 'they don't pay me enough for this' expression, continued to grip her arm. "Seriously, Alenko, just give me five seconds and I'll-"

"_Enough_," Zierrah ordered. "Look, I don't like this any more than you do, but we're not going to get anywhere if you can't keep a cool head. Alenko, Williams, and I will continue looking for Garrus Vakarian. You go and try to find out more about the krogan that just stomped through here. It sounds like he's planning to start some trouble and I don't want that to interfere with our investigation."

"And why the hell would I do that?" Aralynn snapped, like a petulant child.

"One - because I'm your commanding officer," Zierrah replied. "And two – if you're so good at intimidating people, I suggest you use that talent to get this krogan to back down. Going on the assumption that he's a regular troublemaker here, your best bet is probably to check the C-Sec database. Now go." She shot her younger sister 'the look'.

Aralynn reluctantly calmed down and stopped struggling, though she continued to glare daggers at Harkin. "Fine," she muttered. "Though the next time I see _you_," she pointed at Harkin, "you ain't getting away so easily."

"That's enough, soldier! Get going," Zierrah repeated.

Kaidan and Ashley released her. She stomped out of the club, sending a final scowl their way.

Harkin opened his mouth, intending to jeer at Aralynn's retreating form. Zierrah held up a finger to silence him. "You really, _really_ don't want to do that," she warned. "Now can you please tell me where Garrus Vakarian is?"

Harkin inclined his head back tipsily. He slurred, "Hey, you wanna hear a story about Captain Anderson? It goes like this..."

Zierrah facepalmed. "Sweet fudgenuggets above, we are going to be here all day."

* * *

><p>It was easy enough for Aralynn to find her target. The red, hulking krogan stuck out like a sore thumb amidst C-Sec's serene lighting, solemn atmosphere, and humanoid occupants. Conveniently, several C-Sec officers left his side just then, leaving him open for "negotiations". Aralynn smirked. <em>Perfect timing, as always.<em>

Aralynn swaggered toward him confidently, arraying her tiny, five-foot-four frame into the most intimidating pose she could muster. "Hey," she called, nodding her head flippantly, "You the krogan planning a hit on Chora's Den?"

The krogan lumbered toward her. Red eyes met purple ones, but neither flinched away. "So what if I am?" he rumbled in a deep baritone. "The name's Wrex. And I know who _you_ are, Shepard. You've fought through Akuze, the Blitz, Eden Prime…and as I hear, you're a pretty mean biotic to boot."

"Straight up. I see my reputation precedes me," Aralynn replied with a smirk. Her tone then turned sickly-sweet, and her eyes gleamed with barely-contained sarcasm. "Now, as you can imagine, I've got a lot of important, top-secret crap to do and I really want to start shore leave already. But before all that can happen, I need to let you know that Chora's Den is off limits. There's enough stuff I have to take care of without random mercs raising Cain all over the Citadel, and I _really_ don't appreciate people who make more work for me. Capiche?"

Wrex scoffed, "Do you even know why I was hired to take out Fist?"

"Enlighten me."

"Fist has got a piece of vital information he was supposed to turn in to the Shadow Broker. Another buyer showed up, offering more for it, and Fist decided he could turn the tables on him. Big mistake."

"Betraying the Shadow Broker? That's stupid; I mean, what kind of buyer could possibly offer that big a payload?" Suddenly, it clicked in Aralynn's mind.

"What else do you know?" she demanded.

Wrex shrugged, "The Shadow Broker mentioned something about a quarian. Look, I was just hired to down Fist and get out. Don't expect me to know all the specs."

_It all makes sense now. Who else would have access to more dinero than even the Shadow Broker? They'd need a whole_government's_worth of money for that. And who else would be interested in information from a _quarian_?_ _Y'know, makers of the geth and whatnot?_

_Saren's behind this._

"Yes! If I could just get my hands on that info...Spectredom, here I come!" Aralynn shouted happily. She punched the air and began to do a victory dance, drawing the confused stares of onlookers. Turning back to Wrex, she jabbed a finger at his chestplate and growled, "Fist. Is. Mine."

"I don't think so. I respect you, Shepard, so I'm gonna tell you up front: Fist is _my_ bounty."

"Don't make me duke it out with you," Aralynn threatened, holding up her fists.

Wrex sized up the tiny human, furiously glaring at him with the full intent to start a fistfight right in the heart of C-Sec. Much to her surprise, he actually burst out laughing. "I like you, Shepard. You've got guts, and I wouldn't mind you having my back in a good fight. My people have a saying: 'Seek out the enemy of your enemy, and you will find a friend.'"

Aralynn looked up at him, surprised. He _did_ have a point; her chances of getting that information would be a lot better if she teamed up with him. Plus, he was a freaking _krogan_. Sidekicks didn't get much more epic than that. A smile broke out on her face and she shook his hand, "I like that saying. You and I are gonna get along just fine, Wrex."

Wrex unholstered his assault rifle and nodded toward the exit. "Fist will be expecting us…but then again, I've been itching for a good fight. You up for it?"

Aralynn drew her shotgun and flicked the safety off. "Hell yeah."

Meanwhile, in C-Sec's surveillance office, a young rookie and his commanding officer were left staring at the monitors. They watched Aralynn and Wrex's retreating forms as they made their way to the Wards.

"Uh...sir?" the rookie asked. "We just recorded video and audio evidence of those two conspiring to start a firefight in the Wards. As I recall, the krogan was brought in for the very same thing..." Here he brought up Wrex's rap sheet on a nearby console, "...five minutes ago. Shouldn't we dispatch a unit to deal with this?"

The commanding officer looked down in dismay, "Are you kidding? That is _Aralynn Shepard_, of all people, who just teamed up with a _krogan mercenary_! That's not a dispatch, that's a suicide mission!"

"But sir, the regs state that while on duty, we must-"

"I think it's about high time the entire station had a mandatory day off, don't you?"

"Uh, sir-"

"I want this place cleared out in five minutes, or however long it takes for them to reach the Wards, got it?"

The rookie sighed in defeat. "Yes, sir."

* * *

><p>Aralynn crouched by the door and peered inside. As she had expected, the place was swarming with bodyguards. She silently turned to face Wrex.<p>

"This is intense," she muttered, stuffing a cherry lollipop into her mouth to relieve some of the tension. "Just the way I like it."

"Let's lock and load," Wrex replied.

They both charged their biotic shields and moved toward the entryway. Aralynn inhaled sharply, savoring the moment before the battle. Adrenaline, endorphins, and sugar were coursing through her veins, and she had a krogan and her trusty shotgun at her side. Her eyes glinted dangerously. _Now this is what I signed up for._

Aralynn spun and stepped into the doorway, pulling out both shotguns and simultaneously downing the two closest sentries. They opened fire, and Aralynn was engulfed in the flickering blue light of her shield. She jumped and slid across the countertop, landing behind the bar for cover. The bodyguard next to her barely had time to look surprised before he was introduced to the butt of her shotgun. Aralynn let her second shotgun drop; now she'd need to focus on accuracy instead of firepower.

Behind her, Aralynn could hear Wrex shouting a battle cry, running along the left side of the club and peppering it with fire. She turned to the right and propped her shotgun on the counter. Two shots, two felled bodyguards, and it was back under cover. She repeated the process, quickly ducking when a shot from above chipped the countertop.

Lo and behold, there was a bodyguard on the central stage. Aralynn's eyes narrowed as he turned around and aimed his crosshairs at Wrex. She jumped up onto the lighting fixture circling the column and used one arm to hoist herself a head's breadth above the stage. The other arm came up, holding her shotgun.

"Peekaboo," she sing-songed. The guard fell.

Aralynn climbed up onto the stage and lay prone. It offered the perfect vantage point overlooking the entrance to Fist's 'back rooms'. A couple of precision shots later, and the final two bodyguards were downed.

"Not bad," Wrex rumbled, as she dropped down next to him.

"You're pretty handy in a firefight yourself," Aralynn replied. They walked to the door, and she quickly began disabling the lock with omni-gel. "After you," she said, pointing at the door with the barrel of her shotgun.

Wrex let out a rumbling chuckle and disappeared inside.

As Zierrah tried to peer around her lieutenant's bulky form, she couldn't help but wonder just _how_ her missions could fail so horribly. Not five minutes ago, she, Kaidan, and Garrus were about to execute an elegantly-wrought, seamless, tactically brilliant plan to gain entrance to Fist's 'back rooms'. They hadn't gotten halfway across the establishment before bodyguards began to fill the room. Before she could so much as blink, Kaidan had grabbed her and ducked the both of them under a table to avoid incoming gunfire.

Strangely enough, it wasn't even directed at them. And, much to her chagrin, she couldn't even see who _had_started the raging brawl. At the moment, she was squashed up into a clumsy fetal position, trapped between a corner and her overprotective lieutenant; who, for some reason, insisted on shielding her from the crossfire whizzing past their woefully inadequate shelter.

_At least I've got it better than he does_, Zierrah reasoned, though the thought didn't really comfort her. Poor Kaidan was awkwardly squished between Garrus and – just their luck – Harkin, the latter of which had actually avoided death by passing out on the floor. The lieutenant met her gaze and his mouth quirked into a reassuring smile, though it came out as more of a grimace. It might have been either, considering the turian on his right was looking just about ready to hit someone, and the C-Sec officer on his left was now napping on his shoulder. Zierrah decided not to mention that Harkin, apparently, drooled in his sleep.

Suddenly, the racket died down and two distinct voices broke the silence.

"Not bad." The first voice was deep, rumbling, and unmistakably krogan. Zierrah sighed, not at all surprised. Her sister had probably gotten distracted by a stick or some other inane object.

"You're pretty handy in a firefight yourself," came the reply.

Zierrah's eyes flew wide as the second voice registered in her mind. "Oh no," she muttered. "Oh, _hell_ no." She wormed her way past Garrus, pushing Kaidan's shoulder down so she could peer over it. Alas, there was Aralynn, who had not only failed to dissuade the krogan, but was actually _helping_ him in his assault on Chora's Den. Somehow, as she watched the two run side-by-side into Fist's compound, she was once again unsurprised.

"All right, everybody out!" she hollered. Kaidan and Garrus scrambled out from under the table, not intending to endure the full force of her wrath. Pacing agitatedly, Zierrah raved, "I swear, that woman is going to be the death of me."

"You know her?" Garrus asked incredulously.

"She's my sister," Zierrah said, although she didn't look too pleased about that fact. Turning to Kaidan, she asked, "Lieutenant, what's the contingency plan?"

"Uh…what contingency plan?"

"Of course," Zierrah facepalmed. "_Now_ what do we do?"

"I think I can answer that," Garrus said, pointing to the entrance. A new wave of bodyguards, around twenty in number, began pouring through the entrance. Simultaneously, they all aimed their targeting scopes at the three intruders.

"I hate Mondays," Zierrah muttered.

"Spray and pray!" Garrus screamed, ducking and rolling to hide behind an upturned table. He popped up and anchored his assault rifle on the top of the table, providing cover fire as Zierrah and Kaidan dove behind the bar.

Spinning around so they were standing back-to-back, the two soldiers drew their pistols and began firing for all they were worth.

* * *

><p>"The quarian is supposed to be meeting with my men right now, in the alley behind the marketplace. If you go now, you might still be able to catch her." Fist scuttled backwards, utterly terrified of the petite young woman towering over him. <em>Oh, Mother is never going to let me hear the end of this<em>, he lamented. _Of course, if she knew that this girl blew up my defense turrets with her_mind_, she might reconsider. Maybe._

"All righty, then," Aralynn shrugged, retracting her shotgun and taking a step back.

"Wait," Fist said. "You fought your way through half my security force and _that's_ all you were after?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Aralynn said. "What do you take me for, some kind of psycho?"

"Yes," he answered bluntly. "Well, at any rate, you don't know how relieved I am that you're not after m-" Wrex promptly leveled his shotgun and fired.

A heavy silence settled over the room, Aralynn and Wrex occasionally sparing an awkward glance at each other. Aralynn sniffed and nodded her head. "So, uh, wanna go help me rescue the quarian now?"

Wrex shrugged, "Sure, why not." The two bolted out of the door and began sprinting through the maze of halls. When they reached the main room of Chora's Den, however, Aralynn suddenly gasped and skidded to an abrupt stop. Wrex, unable to rein in his momentum, barreled into the girl and sent the both of them toppling. Aralynn slid across the floor, only coming to a stop when she smacked against the base of the counter. Her head began to pulse; none too pleasantly, she might add.

She blearily opened her eyes, only to find her very incensed sister standing over her. "What do you think you are doing?" Zierrah yelled, crossing her arms impatiently. "I gave you very specific orders, and what do you do? You turn around and rampage right over our infiltration op! I can't _believe-_"

The younger Shepard, ignoring her sister's reprimands, jumped to her feet like a prizefighter. She pleaded, "Sis, I can't talk right now! Wrex and I have to go save the quarian!"

"…_What?"_Zierrah shrieked, obviously at the end of her rope.

"What?" Kaidan asked, echoing his commanding officer.

"Ugh…w-what's going on?" Harkin slurred, rising from behind one of the tables. Aralynn promptly drew her shotgun and rifle-butted him back down.

"That was for earlier," she noted matter-of-factly.

Wrex tapped her on the shoulder with a massive claw. "Hey Shepard, remember the quarian? You know, the one we're supposed to be saving right now?"

"Oh, right!" Aralynn exclaimed. She turned and bolted for the door, Wrex right on her heels.

Garrus started, suddenly realizing something. "Wait, would this be the same quarian that Dr. Michel told us about? _Wait for me!_" he yelled, abandoning Zierrah and Kaidan to chase after the mismatched duo.

"Garrus!" Zierrah called after him. He just kept running. "Ugh. Come on, lieutenant!" The two remaining soldiers sprinted after their motley, insubordinate team. By sheer luck, they managed to catch up just as Aralynn was hacking into the alleyway door controls.

"What is going _on_ here?" Zierrah demanded.

"Sis, just shut up and establish a sniper position already!" Aralynn snapped. "We need to take out those assassins before it's too late!"

"What assassins?" The door slid open to reveal a quarian and several white-clad turian agents. _Oh. Those assassins_. Zierrah slid behind several crates and unholstered her sniper rifle, bringing the first assassin into her targeting scope before he could so much as turn around. After the resounding _bang_ echoed through the air, Aralynn and Wrex ran straight into the crossfire, sending the remaining two flying with a biotic throw. Their shields finally flickered out, and they immediately ducked and rolled to find cover. Garrus and Kaidan took point and advanced across the room in tandem, sending a volley of metal slugs sailing through the air.

Tali could only stand in the center of the room, shocked at the menagerie of warriors that had unexpectedly come to her rescue. Once the gunfire died down, Zierrah approached the trembling quarian slowly, hands raised to indicate that she wasn't a threat. "Excuse me, miss," she said softly. "I know you're probably very shaken right now, but we are in need of your help."

"Yes. We believe you are in possession of information concerning Saren and the geth," Garrus cut in. "Information that we desperately need."

"Why should I trust you?" Tali asked unsteadily.

"Other than the fact we just saved your environmentally-controlled arse?" Aralynn deadpanned.

"Okay, you have a point there," Tali admitted. "I'll give you the data…but not here. Let's just go somewhere safe, and then I'll tell you everything you need to know about Saren."

The entire team sighed in relief and exchanged congratulatory grins; all but Aralynn, who cheered and fist-bumped Wrex.

"We've got him now," she said.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, this chapter was massively fun to write. Just saying. :3 Their whole Citadel escapade really was the "perfect fiasco"...where everything goes so wrong it just goes right. The fact that it was Monday is TOTAL coincidence. Really. ;D**

**Thank you to writtenrhythm for beta reading this story! :D And thank you to all who reviewed, faved, and alerted this story...clearing the spam out of my inbox was hell, but...nah, I was really surprised at the reaction when it first got posted. More chapters shall be on the way soon!**


	3. Shore Leave

Chapter 3 - Shore Leave

Soundtrack:

Flux – Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO

Dance Lesson – Paralyzer by Finger Eleven

* * *

><p>The air in the Council Chamber was heavy with tension, alien atmosphere bearing down on the various humanoids as they awaited the big decision. What they decreed now, at this vital moment in history, had the potential to save – or doom – the galaxy and change the very fabric of life as they knew it.<p>

Saren had already been convicted and stripped of his Spectre status, of course. The Council's real dilemma now…was to decide which Shepard went down in history as the first human Spectre.

Aralynn and Zierrah looked at each other, the unspoken message relayed through their gaze.

_May the best woman win._

"Staff Commander Shepard has an impeccable military track record," the turian councilor argued, his taloned hands fervently weaving through the air. "We need someone we can trust out there; someone who not only possesses the combat prowess needed to get the job done, but is also a soldier we _know_ will follow orders and complete this mission right."

The salarian councilor blinked and shook his head. "Ah, yes, but Lt. Commander Shepard has demonstrated far superior abilities, both in combat and in adapting to changing and highly volatile situations," he replied condescendingly. "If a situation arises where orders cannot be given or no longer apply, she is skilled enough to fall back on her own judgment and follow through to the end. Contrary to your opinion, I do believe _effectiveness_ should be paramount in our consideration."

"Both views have their merits and drawbacks," the asari councilor said, glancing back and forth between her two counterparts. "However, we _must_ come to a consensus on which one to select."

On the platform, Aralynn was impatiently shifting from foot to foot. "Sweet dookie, I can't take this anymore! Just step forward and accept the freaking position already!" she whispered to her sister, keeping an eye on the obliviously debating councilors. "We both know you're the better soldier, and you'd make a better galactic hero."

"Yeah, and what good is being a public figure if the galaxy gets ripped apart anyway?" Zierrah retorted. "You're a one-woman army, the only soldier tough enough to take Saren down. And let's face it - with everything you've gone through on Elysium and Akuze, you've more than earned it."

Captain Anderson must have overheard their conversation, as he promptly stepped forward and spoke up, "Councilors, isn't it possible to award both of them Spectre statuses at the same time?"

"Such a thing has never been done before," the asari councilor replied condescendingly, as if the captain was foolish to even suggest such a thing.

"But it's not against any sort of regulations or protocols, is it?" he persisted. "Councilors, with all due respect, you are already blazing trails by instituting a human Spectre. What could you possibly have to lose by admitting _two_ new Spectres into your ranks?"

The councilors whispered among themselves for a few moments. Finally, the asari councilor turned back to her microphone and announced, "Zierrah and Aralynn Shepard, please step forward. We have decided to grant you all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance-"

The rest of the speech faded into a blur for Aralynn, grinning and addled with exhilaration as she was. Her sister stood tall and proud beside her, ever the shining example of what she should aspire to be…but for some reason, this did not irk Aralynn as much as it used to.

All her life, she had been the drab, ordinary girl stuck in her sister's shadow. Now – despite what her parents, teachers, and commanding officers had said – she had made a name for herself and accomplished more than they'd ever dreamed her capable of.

She, Aralynn Shepard, was being sent on the most important mission in humanity's history. She would be given her own ship and a crew to command. She would have her name forever written in the epitomes of history. Adventures and undiscovered worlds lay before her, just waiting for her to stumble upon them. It felt as if the whole _galaxy_ was her oyster.

All too soon, the ceremony ended and she was forced to descend the stairs alongside Zierrah and Captain Anderson. It didn't matter, though. Even Ambassador Udina's erstwhile nagging didn't affect her buoyant spirits; she was practically soaring on top of the world.

Udina's smarmy voice eventually did bring her back to reality, though. "We've got a lot of work to do, Shepard. You'll need a ship, a crew, weapons...Anderson, come along and help me with this!" Aralynn bristled angrily, repressing the urge to smack some sense into the politician. They'd worked themselves nearly to death – in the most literal sense of the phrase – to get the information he needed, and all he could do was continue to bark orders?

"Just a moment, Ambassador," Anderson replied. "I need to have a private word with Commander Shepard."

"Very well, but make it quick!" Udina sniffed. "I'll meet you in the Embassy Lounge." The ambassador did not see the variety of faces Aralynn was making at his retreating back.

Captain Anderson and Zierrah moved off to the side, speaking in hushed tones as they walked toward one of the Presidium's verdant side-balconies. Aralynn craned to the side a bit, trying to make out what they were discussing. Anderson's face was grave and serious, but held a hint of fatherly pride as he explained something to Zierrah. Her sister, on the other hand, looked uncharacteristically astonished, eyes wide and mouth moving rapidly as she voiced her obvious disagreement with the captain. Still, Aralynn couldn't discern a word of their discussion.

"Heh. Didn't even say so much as a 'thank you'," came the low rumble of Wrex's voice.

"That's politics for ya," Aralynn replied, her eyes still following the duo. Eventually, she gave up and turned to the alien members of her group. "What's important now is that we can get our operation of galaxy-saving awesomeness underway. You guys coming along for the ride?"

"That ain't even a question, Shepard," Wrex said.

"Count me in as well," Garrus added. Tali was the only one to remain silent.

"I would like to join you Shepard, that is, if you would allow me to," the quarian began sheepishly.

"Sure, why the hell not?" Aralynn replied, shrugging. "You know, I was just a bit younger than you when I fought on Elysium, and not much more experienced with combat. I figure if I can survive learning on the job, you can too. Welcome aboard." Turning around to gage Kaidan and Ashley's reactions, she saw reluctant acceptance in the eyes of one and outright disbelief on the face of the other. She pointedly decided to ignore them.

Meanwhile, Zierrah returned with Captain Anderson in tow. "Come on," she nodded toward her team. "Let's go back to theNormandyfor now. We've got some time to kill before they can outfit us with everything we'll need for the mission."

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Aralynn sing-songed.

"Yes, Shepard," Captain Anderson chuckled. "Shore leave."

"Yesssss!" she exulted, throwing her arms around Garrus and Tali's shoulders. "Man, we are gonna have some crazy fun-"

"Wait, you're not actually bringing them aboard the ship, are you?" Zierrah asked in disbelief. "You aren't authorized to add crew members to theNormandy's ranks!"

"Fine," Aralynn sighed with mock-exasperation. "Cap'n, may I please keep them?"

The captain smiled, a faint hint of sadness in his eyes, and said, "Very well, Shepard. I trust that you'll keep your team in line?"

"Depends on your definition of 'keeping in line', but yeah," she quipped, her grin not quite reaching her eyes. Something was wrong, and she knew it. "Hey, Cap'n, is there something-"

"I'll discuss it with you later, Shepard. In the meantime, go off and have some fun. You've earned it." Captain Anderson waved her off with a smile, motioning for the soldiers to be dismissed already. Aralynn reluctantly took her leave, glancing back at her commanding officer every now and then. Every time, she saw the man just standing there, a pillar in the milling crowd around him, that same sad smile plastered across his face.

She pushed the quickly-forming knot of anxiety to the back of her mind and crowded into the elevator with the rest of her crew. Tonight, she was going to forget everything that had to do with missions, complications, or galaxy-saving.

Tonight – just for tonight – she would be free.

* * *

><p><em>Clunk. Clunk, clunk, clunk.<em>

The hollow, metallic noise assaulted Joker's ears, making him twitch every time it resounded through the bridge. Still, he diligently continued tapping away at the screens in front of him. Irritating noise be damned; he was determined to look like he was actually getting some work done. Recommendations didn't simply fall from the sky, after all.

_Clunk, clunk_. _Clunk._

Okay, that was _it_. Swiveling his chair around, he glared at the bridge crew, determined to pinpoint the source of that ungodly racket. His jaw nearly dropped at what he saw.

Aralynn Shepard was bedecked in – what was this galaxy coming to? – _high heeled ankle-boots_, strolling around the bridge and chatting up various members of the crew. She was dressed to kill, in distressed leggings and a long, black-and-white striped shirt that had a picture of a chain-wrapped rose on the front. A matching black and white ribbon was carefully wrapped around a strand of her hair.

His surprise was quickly replaced by ire; or, at least, more ire than usual. Only one thing could make tough, crass soldiers like Shepard break out the makeup and frills.

"Aw, great. Shore leave." He spat the words out, as if they left a bitter taste in his mouth. To the rest of the crew, shore leave was a time of relaxation and repose from the bitter reality of war; a time where they could go wherever the winds took them and just be the carefree souls they always wanted to be. To Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau, shore leave was when the rest of the crew packed up and left without a second thought, scattering off to have fun while he sat alone in a silent, empty ship.

Sure, there were a lot less people around to bother him, and sometimes it was fun to hobble around and look through everyone's belongings. But in the end, he was stuck there all the same, just staring at a plethora of monitors and passing the time thinking of snappy comebacks. Speaking of which, he realized he hadn't quite finished tailoring one to Scenario #387…

"Hey, flyboy," Aralynn's harsh voice cut through his cynical musings. She was leaning against one of the consoles, obviously having finished her rounds on the bridge. "I'm heading to Flux with some buddies tonight - oh, and Alenko's coming, too. I was just up here assembling my entourage; you know, going around and seeing who wanted to come with. So are you in?"

He pushed the bill of his hat down, repressing a scowl and covering it up with a smirk instead. "Sorry, I don't do clubs," he replied.

Aralynn chuckled and moved to stand next to him. "What's the matter?" she asked. "Can't dance?"

Every bit of goodwill toward Aralynn Shepard suddenly flew out the airlock. He didn't care how wacky or over-the-top his commanding officer was; some things were just _too much_.

"_Very_ funny, ma'am," he snarked. "Do you always aim below the belt, or do you just reserve that for special people? If so, I'm honored. Really." He turned back to his station and resumed tapping, his eyes practically sparking with anger.

_Seriously,_he thought. _The first time a beautiful, perfectly narcissistic girl asks me to hang out, and it's a freaking joke._It was like being picked on in flight school all over again, except it was just that much more pathetic.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Aralynn asked, completely bewildered - and more than a little annoyed. Few people would dare to fly off the handle at her.

"Oh, what? When you read my file, you didn't assume that I get upset when people make fun of my disease?" Joker snapped. "Well then, _excuse me_."

"I didn't read your file, period!" Aralynn shot back, throwing her hands into the air exasperatedly. "Look, man, I didn't even know you were sick! If it's seriously that bad, then why don't you just stop whining, go down to medbay, and get some freaking painkillers?"

Joker froze and swiveled around to face her. "Wait…you didn't know?" he asked incredulously.

"No!" she screamed, "And what exactly am I supposed to be knowing here, flyboy?"

"Ah, crap," he muttered, unable to believe how badly he had screwed this up. He looked up at her and quickly explained what Vrolik's Syndrome was. "So when I was born, my bones didn't develop correctly; they're pretty much hollow. I take one wrong move and _crack_! Very dramatic," he said nonchalantly, as if he were merely commenting about the weather.

"But...how do you fly the Normandy?" Aralynn asked, not missing a beat.

"I don't _need_ my legs to fly, Shepard," he replied easily. "Just say the word, and I'll make the Normandy dance if you want me to. Just don't ask _me_ to dance, well, unless you like the sound of snappin' shinbones." Instead of laughing at his joke, however, Aralynn just ran a hand through her hair and let out an incredulous sigh.

"Well, I feel like an absolute tool," she announced, leaning against the back of the co-pilot seat. Her voice was blunt and emotionless as usual, but the sheepish curl of her lips and the slight wince in her eyes was enough to convince him.

"Hey," he shrugged. "If it's any consolation, I feel like you're an absolute tool too."

Much to his surprise, she actually laughed. "No, seriously, dude...I mean it. At least let me make it up to you; buy you a few drinks or something."

"Naw, I think I'll just stay here and let this hang over your head for the next few months," he quipped. "More entertaining that way."

Aralynn folded her arms and hopped up onto the console at his side. "Come _on_," she persisted. "It'll be fun!"

"Why do you even care?" Joker asked, all traces of his previous levity gone.

Aralynn shrugged, "Let's just say 'accidentally insulting a cripple' wasn't very high on my list of things I wanted to do on shore leave." Upon seeing the look of indignation that crossed his face, she quickly added, "Besides...you and I both know that you don't want to be stuck here while everybody's out having fun. And I freaking well intend to turn this into an order if you keep sassing off at me. So what do you say?"

"Ah…well," he sighed, nervously tweaking his hat as he tried to stall for time. "It's a generous offer and all, Shepard, but I should probably stay here anyway. I just got off my shift and I still need to catch a nap, do some laundry – that kinda stuff. You wouldn't want to go anywhere with me after I've been in the same uniform for two days straight."

"You're such a pansy," Aralynn teased, her mouth curving into a devious smile. "My current record's three-and-a-half days."

Joker just stared at her, speechless.

"Still," she continued thoughtfully, "If _that's_ your problem, I think I could find you something. Wait here." Before he could object, she scooted off the console and was schlepping in the direction of the crew quarters, her clunking heels still threatening to give him a migraine.

Loud clangs and slams sounded from the level below, causing Joker to wonder if Aralynn was, in fact, using her biotics to bash open the crew lockers. Moments later, the grating _clunk-clunk-clunk_ swelled in volume again as she eagerly jogged back onto the bridge.

"Look, Shepard, it's not like…_gah!_" No sooner had Joker opened his mouth than he found a black t-shirt hurtling toward his head. The bundle of cloth hit dead-center, blanketing his face and effectively cutting off his oxygen. He swiped frantically at the assaulting garment…only to have a leather jacket impact his forehead moments later.

After clearing his face and shooting Aralynn a death-glare, he took a moment to look over the proffered clothing. The t-shirt was slashed all down the front, revealing a checkered material underneath, and a variety of metal studs and chains adorned the admittedly stylish jacket. It was something Aralynn would pick, all right; except these were definitely men's clothes.

For a moment, Joker wondered exactly who she had gotten them from – then he quickly decided it was best not to ask questions.

"There. No more excuses," Aralynn smirked, leaning on one hip as she jauntily crossed her arms. "Rule one of being my subordinate, flyboy – I always win."

Joker massaged his temples, trying to resist the urge to slam his head against the control console.

_What in the name of this messed-up galaxy have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

><p>It was in this manner that the Normandy's pilot found himself hobbling through the Citadel's Wards, lagging behind a very loud, boisterous group of soldiers as they made their way to a dance club. Yes, he was going to a <em>dance club<em>, of all things. He would've found it almost laughable, if the whole situation wasn't so terribly awkward. It seemed like for every painfully loud _clack_ his crutches made against the polished floor, the soldiers in front of him took three smooth, unhindered steps ahead.

Aralynn was at the very front, trying to convince the Commander to "work it" or some other nonsense like that. "Come on, sis!" she teased loudly. "If you just dressed with a little more _snap_, you could be all like, 'I'm Commander Shepard, and I have the best posse on the Citadel." Zierrah, who was dressed in an elegant black trench coat and leggings, just shook her head and smiled amusedly.

Joker's own smile was short-lived, as he realized they were so far ahead that they were actually moving out of earshot. He let out a defeated sigh; somehow, he just _knew_ it would turn out like this. Maybe if he lagged back just a little more, he could disappear into the crowd and make a break for it without Aralynn noticing…

That nerve-grinding, persistent clacking sounded up again, and Joker briefly considered asking a random passerby to just sling him over their shoulder and run for the docking port. Alas, it was too late. A small, calloused hand – complete with checkered manicure – clamped over his arm, dragging him forward. The other crewmembers took notice and slowed down as well, easily settling around the two as they strolled.

"You're not getting away that easy, Lieutenant," Aralynn drawled. "Conscience won't allow it; and besides, this is just too freakin' amusing."

"Oh yeah, that's a good one," Joker shot back. "You having a conscience, I mean."

Aralynn just smiled mischievously, completely unfazed. "Well, hey, it's a special occasion. You actually managed to throw me for a loop there with your 'big confession'," she replied, adding air-quotes with her free hand. "Not many people manage that in their lifetime."

"Wow, do I get a sticker and everything?" he asked with mock-enthusiasm.

Aralynn chuckled and shook her head, "No, seriously. I couldn't even tell, with how you fly the ship and whatnot."

"I get that a lot," he shrugged. "I don't mean to brag or anything, but the Normandy's probably too much for your average pilot to handle. Lucky for you, though, I'm anything but average."

"I can relate to that," Aralynn said, her head bobbing thoughtfully.

"That so?"

"Yep," she smirked, reaching into the large, studded black handbag she held at her side. To everyone's astonishment, she actually pulled out a small SMG and held it out for them to see. "Like, _this_ is probably too much for the average defense-conscious girl to handle. Lucky for us, though, I'm anything but average."

"I don't think 'lucky' is the word," Joker said, his face paling.

"Yeah, yeah," Aralynn snapped, opening the purse to drop the weapon back in. "We'll see who's so smart-alecky when someone tries to mug us-" She suddenly stopped short, frantically rummaging around in the silky interior of her purse. Aralynn looked up at him, her eyes wide with dismay. "Oh crap, I can't believe I forgot it!"

Joker shot her a sarcastic smile, "Aww - don't tell me. You left behind your extra ammo clips?"

"Nope, they're right here," Aralynn said, opening a side-zipper and brandishing the aforementioned clips. "I actually forgot to bring makeup and about half my spending money; but hey, I'll live."

Ahead of them, Ashley peered over her shoulder. "Hey Shepard, do you happen to have any pistol ammo on you? I forgot to pack some for Betsy here," she whispered, opening her own purse to reveal a small, heavily modified pink handgun.

"Sure, Williams, no problem," Aralynn smiled, rummaging around again before handing over a couple mags. "Love the customization on that pistol, by the way!" she gushed.

"Help me," Joker mouthed to a passing C-Sec officer. The officer just shouldered past him, brutally dashing all his hopes of being spirited back to the Normandy's cockpit.

It wouldn't have mattered, at any rate. The ragtag bunch had already arrived at Flux. Aralynn and Ashley were clutching their now-shut purses with a look of sparkling innocence, Zierrah was eyeing them warily, Kaidan looked to be mustering up his courage, and Garrus was already making a beeline toward the slot machines. Joker was no expert on shore leave, but he was fairly certain that this was _nowhere_ near normal.

Before he knew it, the group began to split and pair off. Kaidan, Zierrah, and most of theNormandy's officers all moved to a table and began to trade war stories. Ashley and Chief Engineer Adams promptly made their way to the dance floor. Tali hesitated for a moment before trudging after Garrus, curious to see how many credits the turian would lose by evening's end. Seeing as there was nothing better to do, Joker followed Aralynn as she weaved through the crowd and took a seat at the bar.

She raised her eyebrows in a silent question as he set aside his crutches and struggled to get up onto the seat. "I got it," he reassured her, feeling utterly winded as he finally settled in and leaned his arms against the counter.

Aralynn linked her fingers together and propped her chin on them, glancing over at him casually. "So, what do you usually do on shore leave?" she asked.

"A whole lot of nothing," he shrugged, taking his drink from the volus behind the counter. Spinning the glass in lazy circles, he asked, "What about you?"

She smirked, "This. Ain't got no family to go home to, and it's the one thing I _do_ miss about Earth. So, why not?" Aralynn took a slow sip from her glass, closing her eyes as she soaked up the music. She really did miss this; the pulse of the bass vibrating through the walls, the lighthearted frenzy of the dance floor, the feeling of just casting off one's troubles for a single night. It was all that had kept her going when she was a runaway.

_Speaking of which_, her mind hummed to itself. Aralynn cast a longing look at the dance floor, a sharp twang shooting through her heart as the music grew in volume. "I'm gonna go tear it up a bit," she shouted over the music, pointing her thumb at the dance floor.

"Oh…okay," Joker replied. She didn't hear him, though, as she was already making her way across the room. He sighed and looked down at his drink, making faces at his own blue-tinted reflection. The whole ordeal was starting to seem more and more like senior prom; sitting alone with a glass of strange alien punch in his hand, his not-quite-date off to the dance floor for the rest of the evening…

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Wait…Shepard can dance?" he asked incredulously. With some difficulty, he shoved himself off the seat and limped toward an unoccupied table with a decent view of the dance floor. "Whoa," he muttered, completely taken aback. "Correction: Shepard can _dance_."

Aralynn had already captured an unfortunate member of the Normandy's crew and was practically dancing circles around him. The poor guy – who looked, for all intents and purposes, like a deer caught in the headlights – seemed to be torn between acute embarrassment and unadulterated terror. However, he quickly calmed down when Aralynn shot him a friendly smile and lapsed into a series of more common dance moves.

Joker quirked his head to the side as he watched, idly wondering how it was physically possible to do the Running Man while wearing heels.

Not that he would ever venture to find out, of course.

Meanwhile, Aralynn ducked under her partner's arm and twirled, her feet smoothly tracing intricate patterns in the floor. She led them in a fast-paced sort of waltz, twisting and turning for a brief moment, then letting go just as suddenly. Shuffling back a few steps, she ventured out by herself for a few moments before seamlessly falling back into step with her partner. Her freestyling was different from the erratic, almost comical movements of the others around her. The way she moved – gracefully and fluidly, yet deliberately – indicated that she knew what she was doing.

Suddenly, Aralynn broke away again, this time dancing even faster than before. The crewmembers on the dance floor, who were either hanging out by the sidelines or clustered into their own little groups, started to take notice.

She seemed to meld into the crowd almost instantly. Before any of them knew it, she was laughing and joking with the rest of them, occasionally showing a crewmember how to do a particular dance or busting out a move that got the rest of them roaring with laughter. Aralynn, however, was always visible amongst the bedlam; a splash of pure, absolute _crazy_ even amidst the chaotic swarm of light and color. Eventually, she shouldered her way off the dance floor, waving off jokes and dance invitations from afar.

"Dang, I needed that," Aralynn announced happily as she took a seat next to Joker. "How're you doing?"

"Eh, ornery and good-looking as ever," he quipped, eliciting a roll of the eyes from her. "However…I'm more interested in the fact that the 'terrifying' Aralynn Shepard has a hidden talent for dancing. Will wonders never cease." He was heading into dangerous territory, and he knew it; most considered it suicidal to gauge how much back-talk the younger Shepard would tolerate. Even so, egging her on was just too darn amusing.

Aralynn met his sly grin with one of her own. "I may or may not have taken a few lessons back in the day," she said, appearing to buy into the game. Joker sniggered, trying to imagine a miniaturized version of his commanding officer prancing around a dance studio, complete with fluffy tutu and tiny shotgun.

Her expression took a turn for the devious and immediately his amusement was replaced with a deep-settled feeling of dread. "Well, since you're so _interested_, why don't I teach you how to dance?" she asked, her violet eyes narrowing in a challenge.

"Uh, Shepard?" he asked sarcastically. "Remember that lovely little shouting match we had where you brought up my condition and then assaulted my face with a leather jacket? Good times, you and I, but may I put the emphasis on my _condition-_" He stopped short, finally reaching the horror-struck realization that Aralynn probably _did_ enjoy the sound of snapping shinbones.

"Wait here," she said, flouncing off in the direction of the DJ booth with that same godforsaken smirk on her face.

Joker craned to the side, desperately searching out Kaidan's face amongst those at the officers' table. Their eyes locked, and Kaidan's brows furrowed in concern upon seeing the look of abject terror on his friend's face. "_Help me_," the pilot mouthed, hoping that the kind-hearted lieutenant would be more sympathetic to his plea.

However, no aid was forthcoming, as Zierrah chose that moment to turn to Kaidan and ask, "So, Lieutenant, where did you receive your training?" With a sigh of relief, Kaidan broke the eye contact and gratefully launched into a story of his days at the ArcturusMilitaryAcademy. He _had_ to reply; Zierrah _was_ his commanding officer, after all. Never mind that he infinitely preferred being trapped under a table with Harkin to getting mixed up in Aralynn's antics.

"_Traitor!_" Joker mouthed, angrily shaking a crutch in Kaidan's direction. _Note to self: get even with Alenko one of these days._ Ideas began to run through his mind: replacing the lieutenant's hair-gel with superglue, dropping a little baby powder in his sleeping pod's air vents…maybe 'patching a transmission through' at an extremely inopportune moment…

The music suddenly changed to a jaunty alternative-rock song, and Aralynn came sauntering back. She held out her hand to him, and he reluctantly let her pull him to his feet. There was no way out of this now.

"Lord have mercy on my shins," he muttered as Aralynn led him to the dance floor.

"Stop being such a baby!" she teased, her glee increasing in tandem with his ire. "It'll be fun!" She stopped in a faraway corner, one that was obscured by the dim glow of blacklights and located a decent distance away from any critics.

"Okay," she said decisively, holding out her other hand. The pilot reluctantly took it, and she nodded in approval. "Just keep holding on so you don't fall, and the rest is just…moving to the music. Like this." Aralynn began to sway back and forth, her head and shoulders moving to the beat. Joker hesitated a moment before copying her movements, careful not to shift his feet in the process.

"There you go!" Aralynn shouted over the music.

"This is dancing?" he asked incredulously. "Huh, there's a lot less...you know, _falling_ and _fracturing_ involved than I thought." This wasn't bad, Joker realized. It was actually kind of fun - not that he would've known before now, of course. Dancing by himself was out of the question, and no girl had ever asked him to dance before; well, aside from Aralynn.

_Maybe she's not so bad after all._

"Mhmm, so that makes three 'I was right' points for me, and a grand total of zero for you," Aralynn smirked. "I win."

_Never mind._

"Yeah, yeah," he replied. "Just you wait 'till we're back on the Normandy, Shepard." The playful jibe went unnoticed, however, as Aralynn was busy lip-synching to the song she'd requested.

Her eyes were focused on the floor, head bobbing absentmindedly as she mouthed, "_I'm not paralyzed, but I seem to be struck by you; I want to make you move, because you're standing still-_" Joker shook his head, wryly amused.

Never let it be said that Aralynn Shepard didn't have an appreciation for irony.

* * *

><p>They finally boarded the Normandy a few hours past midnight, being the two last crewmembers to leave Flux. The ship was already dark and silent, the low thrum of the Tantalus drive core being the only thing to break the eerie silence.<p>

After a few dances, they'd settled back into their original seats and began to trade stories; Joker ranting about his misadventures in flight school and Aralynn regaling him with tales of her numerous exploits at the military academy. With each passing story, they kept upping the ante until the sheer outrageousness was too much for their cynical exteriors to handle.

Neither of them could recall a time when they'd spent so long collapsed over a bar counter in fits of hysterical laughter. They had stayed there, empty glasses forgotten and sarcastic banter hanging in the air, until the volus behind the counter finally lost his patience and kicked them out. They'd laughed about _that_ on the way back, too.

Still, he'd asked her at one point – why him? Normally, he was so blunt and stand-offish that the rest of the crew – if not the rest of the world – often decided to just leave him be. Aralynn had simply shrugged and replied, "You're interesting."

"Interesting?" he had burst out incredulously.

"Most people are reluctant to try and cross me; either because I scare the crap out of them or because they simply know better. But _you_, for some indiscernible reason, aren't afraid to yell right back in my face or give me attitude. I find that interesting."

They rounded the corner, still laughing off the dregs of a particularly insane story…when they suddenly came face-to-face with Captain Anderson. Aralynn jumped about a foot in the air, barely managing to place a steady hand on her pilot's back to keep him from falling over his own crutches. Anderson was standing in the middle of the bridge, arms folded and a particularly stern expression on his face.

Aralynn and Joker suddenly felt like two teenagers caught sneaking out, despite the fact that they were well within their rights to stay out late on shore leave. Friends serving together in theAlliancedid this all the time; although, Aralynn pondered, she didn't really consider him a 'friend' quite yet. More like a particularly irritating acquaintance that she just so happened to get along with. That worked.

Anderson began tapping his foot, and Aralynn was jolted back into the present. _Right,_she thought. _Pissed-off commanding officer demanding an explanation. What to do in order to diffuse the situation…_

"Uh…happy birthday, sir!" Aralynn cheered randomly, throwing her hands into the air. "Sorry we didn't get you a present; we were combing the Wards for one _all night_, but couldn't find one that befitted your particular brand of awesomeness-"

"Stow it, Shepard," Anderson interrupted her. "Zierrah already told me you two were out at a club." He ran a hand over his face and amended, "My apologies; I don't mean to sound impatient. It's just that I've been meaning to speak with you, and I'm kind of operating under a deadline here."

"Sure, cap'n," Aralynn nodded, motioning for Joker to return to the cockpit. "What did you need to tell me?"

As soon as the pilot was out of earshot, Anderson began, "You're going to need a ship, and a darn good one too, if you're going to take out Saren. That's why I'm transferring joint command of the Normandy to you and your sister. All your belongings have already been transferred to the captain's quarters, and you'll find all the necessary intel waiting in your new terminal."

"What?" Aralynn burst out in disbelief. "But…cap'n, this is _your_ ship, _your_ mission, and _your_ crew. You can't just back out on us now!"

"I don't have a choice, Shepard," he sighed. "The Alliance thinks I have too much history with Saren. Back when I was around your age, we went on a few missions together, one of which ended in disaster…and my losing candidacy for becoming a Spectre. So, they're keeping me grounded here on the Citadel, so my past won't 'interfere with your mission'."

"No…no, no, no," Aralynn retorted. "I'm not going to let them do this to you; we are going to go back into the Presidium and demand that they reassign you to this mission! Cap'n, Zierrah and I can't do this alone – we can barely keep our pet turtles alive, much less the rest of the galaxy!"

"Ari," Anderson sighed, placing his hands on her shoulders in a fatherly manner. Aralynn bristled at the old nickname, but forced herself to hold back a protest and listen to what the captain had to say. "I taught you girls how to shoot a pistol. I was the one to welcome you back to theAllianceafter you helped save Elysium. I watched you two get hauled back from the surface of Eden Prime, totally incapacitated, only to see you up and fighting again before the day was over.

"If I had _any_ doubts about your ability to complete this mission, I wouldn't have given the Normandy to you. You both have grown into exceptional soldiers, and I know your parents would have been proud to see what you're doing for humanity now."

"Sir," Aralynn replied solemnly, all the fire and brimstone gone from her countenance. "Thank you, sir."

Anderson nodded, clasping his hand behind his back in a traditional military stance. "Good luck, Shepard," he said, smiling as he cast one last look around the CIC. "And do try to bring the Normandy back in one piece, would you?"

"I'll do my best, cap'n," she said, giving a sad little wave as he turned on his heel and left the Normandy once and for all.

The sound of the airlock hissing shut sounded like a death knell to Aralynn. Now, there was nobody else to make the tough decisions; nobody to second-guess or bounce ideas off of. All of it…_all of it_ was up to her and Zierrah now.

The thought was as exciting as it was terrifying.

Aralynn cast a despondent look at the stairwell, not quite wanting to see her quarters yet. No doubt it would be strange, standing in Captain Anderson's old room and seeing her horror movie collection, sci-fi memorabilia, and lollipop stash sitting next to his former data terminal. So, she turned around and went in the opposite direction – which just so happened to be the cockpit.

"Man, I just can't believe it. So many years of service to the Alliance, only to get taken down by backroom politics," Joker said, not even bothering to hide the fact that he'd been eavesdropping. "That just plain sucks, doesn't it?"

"Anderson was a good man," Aralynn agreed, quietly slipping into the co-pilot seat that Kaidan usually occupied. "I still can't help but feel like we're stealing the ship from him, somehow."

Joker just nodded, also uncharacteristically solemn. Aralynn just folded her arms and slouched down comfortably in her seat. For a while, it was like the two kindred spirits could enjoy the ceasefire and just sit in companionable silence, bravely facing down the future that stood before them.

And then Joker suddenly spoke up, "So…Ari, huh?"

Aralynn cringed, meeting his smug grin with a deathglare of epic proportions. "_Don't_ call me that," she snarled, pointing a finger at him.

The easy atmosphere around them had suddenly dissipated, leaving a heavy fog of awkwardness that she couldn't be bothered to fix. She'd never explained to anyone why she hated her old nickname…and she wasn't about to start now.

Eventually, though, things would right themselves again. They always did.

"I should go," she sighed, dismissing herself from the cockpit.

"Alright, see ya," Joker called over his shoulder. "And Shepard?"

"Yeah?" Aralynn called back, halfway across the bridge.

"Thanks. For tonight, I mean. I actually had fun."

Aralynn blinked, surprised for a moment. "No problem," she said at length. "Though you can hold off on the sass next time I'm obviously _right_." She could hear his amused chuckle even as she palmed open the door to the stairway.

She sighed as she descended down into the mess hall, heels clacking noisily against the stairs. If _every day_ was going to be like the last three had been…they were all in for a really long ride. Provided, of course, that she didn't end up strangling Joker or Kaidan by journey's end.

She shook away the thoughts, steeling herself as she approached the captain's quarters. There was no time for this; she could either spend all night thinking about the mission, or she could do it. They had a shipful of people to lead, a rogue Spectre to find…and hopefully, a _lot_ of evil robots to shoot in between.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Agh! So, so, so sorry for taking so long to get this chapter out! For the longest time, I didn't even know _what_ to do for a transition chapter, and then it hit me: SHORE LEAVE, ARALYNN STYLE. :D And it was uber fun to write. Next chapter, the mission finally gets underway, and we get to see Aralynn's so-called "driving skills".**

**Like it? Love it? Hate it? What about the hints toward Aralynn's sketchy past? Her dual personality? Her hidden talent?**

**Is she going to get them all killed when she attempts to drive the Mako?**

**Leave a review, please; if not for my sake, then for writtenrhythm, who so kindly endured the wrath of a flight attendant while beta reading this on her flight home.**

**AND HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE. :3**


	4. Vehicular Awesomeness

Chapter 4 - Vehicular Awesomeness

Soundtrack:

Driving - Pump It by the Black Eyed Peas

Zierrah & Kaidan fight scene - Phenomenon by Thousand Foot Krutch

* * *

><p>Propping her hands on either side of the Mako's hatch, Aralynn happily swung down into the driver's seat. Zierrah and Kaidan had occupied the back seat, each making sure that they were wearing double-harnesses, while Garrus took the gunner's seat next to Aralynn.<p>

Eagerly twisting her breather-helmet into place, Aralynn said, "Man, it's so good to be behind the wheel again. I really, _really_ missed this." Ignoring the perturbed glances of her teammates, she actually began to bounce in the springy seat.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, ma'am?" Kaidan spoke up, warily watching the hyperactive woman in front of him.

"Positive, Lieutenant," Zierrah nodded. "There isn't another soldier on this ship who can drive a rover like she can. I trust her implicitly."

The Mako's comm system flared to life and Joker's voice resounded throughout the vehicle's interior. "Coming up on the drop point. Prepare for launch."

Aralynn looked up and activated the communication console above the driver's seat. "Acknowledged. Hey, while we're still in orbit, can you access my files and patch some driving music through to the Mako's speakers?"

"You got it, Shepard," came the reply. "Anything in particular?"

"Something pumpin'," Aralynn declared with a truly terrifying smile. "I really want to rock out while I'm putting this rig through its' paces."

"Uh, Commander? You were saying?" Kaidan piped up again, sparing a nervous glance at Aralynn's dastardly smirk.

Zierrah was quick to reply, "Well, there's also the fact that no one else on the Normandy can _drive_ a Mako-class rover…"

"Are you serious?" Garrus burst out. "Out of all you people, _she_ is the only one who bothered to learn how to drive the Mako?"

"During my training, I signed up for a special 'vehicular operations' class…although I also managed to forget about half the course material within a week," Aralynn shrugged. "Still, we should be okay. If I can kill a thresher maw with one of these babies, I think I can manage to find one dinky little probe."

"Okay, files are transferred and we've reached the drop point. Ground team, you are good to go," Joker cut in.

"Excellent," Aralynn drawled. As the cargo bay doors slowly slid open, she began to flip a series of switches above the steering wheel. Panel after panel flickered to life, their blue glow illuminating the marine's face as she pressed the appropriate buttons to begin the startup sequence. The Mako began to thrum beneath them; a steady rhythm that excited, reassured, and terrified them all at once.

A foreboding 'click' could be felt throughout the metal interior as Aralynn pressed down on the clutch and shifted the Mako into gear. She eased the Mako forward slightly, just so that the ground team could have a cursory glimpse at the scintillating emerald plains below.

Zierrah straightened her posture and sent a reassuring smile to Kaidan, almost as if to say: _See, I told you she's a competent driver!_

Aralynn smirked deviously, reaching up toward the main console. _Three…two…one…_

She shifted to a higher gear and _floored it_.

The Mako all but shot out of the Normandy's cargo bay, accompanied by the sound of depressurizing atmosphere and muffled screaming. The noise was quickly blocked, however, by the roar of rushing air as they broke through the lower atmosphere. Condensation speckled and flew off the windshield, doing nothing to obscure the lush landscape rushing toward them at an alarming rate.

"Shouldn't you be activating the thrusters?" Zierrah gritted out, her left eye twitching slightly.

"No, I'm good," Aralynn said dreamily, pretending to enjoy the view.

Zierrah grimaced and vowed to read the Mako's instruction manual the next chance she got. Next to her, Kaidan was hyperventilating and all-out bracing himself for impact. She could see his panicked eyes through his helmet's visor, and a twinge of sympathy shot through her. She knew she could trust Aralynn – after all, they were sisters; and Zierrah knew that, despite her daredevil tactics, Aralynn would die before letting harm come to her. Kaidan, on the other hand, had no reason to believe that Aralynn _wouldn't_ run the vehicle straight into the ground if it so pleased her.

Her observations were cut short as the Mako's thrusters kicked in and the cabin gave an almighty shudder. Aralynn had obviously not deemed it necessary to take her foot off the accelerator, as the Mako then shot forward at an alarming speed, its tires displacing about a half-ton of dirt in the process.

Zierrah could've sworn her heart stopped for a few moments when they hit the first hill. The Mako's interior keened and lurched like a ship's deck in choppy waters, as the poor vehicle skimmed over Eletania's mildly uneven terrain.

Suddenly, Garrus gasped and screamed, "_Look out for that rock!_"

"What rock?" Aralynn asked absentmindedly. Her question was answered as the Mako came out of a jump and promptly hit a small boulder. The vehicle's tire didn't explode, much to their momentary relief. Rather, the impact on the vehicle's shields propelled it upward, causing the Mako to lose its equilibrium, topple over, and begin flipping across the plains at a sickening velocity.

Zierrah's helmet had all but melded with her headrest; she was braced so rigidly against her seat. Outside, the scenery was spinning like a tumble-dryer, colors and objects being swirled together in an indistinguishable blur. Faintly, she heard the trill of high-pitched screaming, melded with the equally-terrified yells of two lower voices. It took a few moments before she realized that she was the source of the noise. She clamped her jaw shut - with no small amount of effort – and focused on glaring at the back of her sister's head. Aralynn was cheering and whooping, her armored hands gleefully thrown into the air as she enjoyed the ride.

As terrifyingly nauseating as the ride was, it was about to get much worse. The ground abruptly fell out from under them in a gentle yet sudden swoop; the verdant plains curving down into a round, grass-filled depression. Given the Mako's current velocity, a 'gentle stop' was all but impossible.

The vehicle careened off the hill and promptly imbedded itself nose-deep in the dirt, wheels spinning madly as it stuck up at a near 90-degree angle.

Inside, Zierrah was all but suspended by her safety harnesses, trying not to lose feeling in her arms as she dangled helplessly. She gritted her teeth in frustration, attempting to assess the situation logically and keep her cool for the sake of the team…

It took all of five seconds for _that_ to fail spectacularly. "_Aralynn!_" she bellowed. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Aralynn shrugged as best she could. "Obviously that _this_ wasn't going to happen."

"Do you _know_ how much money it's going to take to repair a _specialty_ _all-terrain vehicle_? Or that _I'm_ the one who's going to have to explain this to the Alliance? No, because you were too busy joyriding like a mentally-challenged pyjak!"

Aralynn placed her hands on her hips but only succeeded in looking extremely ridiculous; being suspended in the air and all. "Hey! I don't hear _Garrus_ complaining about my driving!"

"That's because his safety belt is constricting his windpipe!"

Aralynn looked over to observe the turian's heretofore-unnoticed choking fit. Blinking in surprise, she mumbled, "Oh, yeah. You're right." Without a moment's warning, she reached to the side and deactivated the belt's locking mechanism, causing Garrus to drop onto the dashboard in an ungraceful, flailing heap. The turian rose up slowly and deliberately, glaring at Aralynn with all the burning fury of a thousand suns.

She simply matched his glare with an equally apathetic one before turning back to the controls.

Zierrah craned her neck to look at the man sitting beside her, noting with alarm that the movement was rather painful. Kaidan was not faring much better. A grimace was etched onto the marine's pale face, and he gripped his left shoulder tightly.

"You all right there, Lieutenant?" Zierrah asked.

"I'll be fine, ma'am," Kaidan said. "I think I got a fracture, but a small one. Nothing a little medigel won't fix."

"Sure you don't want us to call in the Normandy? It wouldn't take that long to get you to medbay," she suggested. When Kaidan shook his head no, Zierrah gave a conciliatory sigh and used her omni-tool to increase his suit's automatic medigel-dispensing output. If anything, she had to respect the man's dedication.

Up front, Aralynn was busily fiddling with the controls. Biting her lip as she finally settled her hands on the steering apparatus, she mumbled, "I think I've got it…_aha!_" The Mako jolted as she slammed down the accelerator and activated the thrusters at the same time, causing the vehicle to dislodge none-too-gently. It shot out of the dirt, flying backwards for a few feet before landing with a dull _thunk_.

"So…who's going to go out and get the data module? Anybody?" Aralynn asked cheerfully. When she was met with three identical death-glares, she rolled her eyes and snapped, "Oh, _fine_." She stood up on the driver's seat and opened the hatch.

After she grudgingly clambered out, an awkward silence descended over the Mako's interior. The three acquaintances – not having the slightest idea what to talk about – settled for glancing back and forth among each other. Soon, that too became awkward, and they all suddenly found their armrests to be incredibly fascinating.

Kaidan was the first to try and start a conversation. "Hey, Garrus, I've been meaning to ask you a question. How _do_turians chew, with not having cheeks and everything? It seems like it would be…" Garrus looked over his shoulder and gave Kaidan an irritated glare that all but screamed 'You racist!', "…Okay, I'll be quiet now," he murmured awkwardly.

The ever-increasing awkwardness was then broken by the appearance of Aralynn's upside-down head. "Guys, we've got a problem," she announced. "And you are _never_ going to guess what went wrong this time."

"Let me guess," Garrus deadpanned. "Pyjaks stole the data module, and now we're going to have to check every godforsaken pyjak colony on this rock."

"You psychic!" Aralynn exclaimed as she dropped back down into the driver's seat.

"No such luck, Shepard," he shrugged, reaching up and closing the hatch behind her. "The darn things are native to my planet. This has happened to me dozens of times before…but with a lot less vehicular negligence and violent crashing."

"Aww, but that's the best part!" Aralynn declared, firing up the lifesigns scanner and marking navpoints where there were large concentrations of lifeforms. Evidently, she had found no need to cease driving during all of this, since she was already taking on a steep incline at top speed.

"Ma'am, look at how much the tires are skidding. Why don't you just go around to a smaller slope that the Mako can handle?" Kaidan supplied helpfully.

"_Because_," Aralynn snapped, "the navpoint is just on the other side of this ridge, and with all ridges, there is a _gentle_ slope on one side and a _steep_ one on the other. Now why would I waste time driving around this thing when I can get us there in a few more feet?" She wrenched the steering apparatus from side to side, forcing the Mako to shimmy up the cliffside inch by inch. "See, Alenko? Prepare to eat your words in three…two…one…_sweet dookie!_"

Their hearts all stopped in unison as they beheld the sheer drop before them. The Mako was tottering back and forth on an inch-wide peak of stone; on the verge of careening straight down toward a very, very small pyjak colony below and…was that a _cloud_ passing in front of the windshield?

"Uh, Shepard?" Garrus asked dryly, appearing unfazed by the whole situation. "I think you just drove up the _gentle_ side."

"Yep, it would appear so," Aralynn nodded nonchalantly. "Well…nowhere to go but forward!" She leaned forth in her seat, causing the Mako to tip ever so slightly forward and begin its' terrifying, uncontrolled descent. Muffled screams pierced the serene quietude of Eletania's plains once more.

"Brake! _Brake!_" Zierrah screeched. "Oh, for the love of all that is good and holy, _BRAKE!_"

"Duh, don't you think I tried that already?" Aralynn snapped, holding up the severed emergency brake. "Flimsy piece of Alliance-issue crap!"

Garrus' mask of cool indifference finally cracked, as his keen blue eyes drifted over to the control panel and observed that the Mako's speed gauge was actually maxed out. "Oh, spirits…_brace for impact!_"

* * *

><p>The circle of life on Eletania was a gentle, slow process, and that morning was no different. In the peaceful little colony, little pyjaks scampered to and fro, gathering food to store within the central hive-like structures while listening to the soft waving of grasses and the cheery twitter of birds.<p>

And then the Mako descended upon the unsuspecting colony, blasting through the structure in a shower of flying fruit and debris.

The vehicle's interior was fraught with the sound of surprised squeaks and the motion of disturbingly loud thumps. When the pandemonium finally came to a stop, the four soldiers just looked at each other awkwardly, too shocked and traumatized to process the horror of the situation. It was, to everyone's surprise, Aralynn who first jumped into action.

She all but scrambled to get the hatch open, peering around madly as she surveyed the utter carnage before her. "Well," she drawled, "I can tell you one thing. There's no data module in _this_ mess."

"How do you know?" Zierrah asked skeptically. She shouldered her way past Aralynn to see for herself. "You're not even getting out of the…_sweet Jesus, look at all that roadkill._"

The two men looked confused as Zierrah and Aralynn occupied their respective seats, eyes wide as saucers. Kaidan moved to get up, but Aralynn quickly held up a hand and motioned for Garrus to close the hatch. "You _don't_ want to look out there," she said. "Trust me."

"And to think, there are two more navpoints to go," Zierrah muttered dryly.

"Permission to speak freely, ma'am?" Kaidan asked.

"Go ahead, Alenko," she sighed.

"I hate my job."

* * *

><p>The mining tunnel loomed before them; desolate, abandoned, and surrounded by debris from the once-thriving pyjak colony surrounding it. It was by far the most depressing beacon of hope they had ever seen, but it <em>was<em> the last navpoint. The data module had to be here.

"Stay here," Zierrah ordered as she opened the hatch on the roof. "Intel says that the geth are looking for this data core as well. I need you two to keep the Mako running in case they zero in on our location. Lieutenant, you're with me."

"Aye, ma'am," Kaidan nodded.

The two marines clambered out of the rover, drawing their pistols as soon as their feet hit solid ground. _Oh, I am good,_ Zierrah thought deviously as they entered the tunnel. Truth be told, it was obvious that patience and precision would be the key to getting this mission done, and…well…Aralynn was pretty much guaranteed to charge through the tunnels with guns ablaze, scaring the already-traumatized pyjaks to the mines' nether regions. Given Garrus' mutual irritation with the little creatures, she doubted he would fare much better.

Kaidan, on the other hand, was more gentle and professional in his methodology. She could practically feel the mission-related stress melting away as the marine quickly and efficiently scoped the room. Commanding a crew this unruly was an incredibly difficult task, and it comforted her to know that at least _someone_ was trying to make things a little easier for her.

"Nothing here, ma'am," he reported.

"They're probably living much deeper in the tunnels," Zierrah mused, looking at her omnitool. "Let's fan out to cover a greater distance, and regroup at a junction several hundred yards away."

"Aye," Kaidan replied, promptly moving towards his designated search zone.

Zierrah couldn't help but smile and place the tiniest of skips in her step, as she approached the entrance to a side tunnel.

_Sweet, sweet efficiency, how I have missed thee._

Half an hour later, though, Zierrah's cheerful mood had long since faded. This was evidenced by the deep scowl that _would_ have been visible through her visor, had her helmet not been viciously smeared with mud by a particularly short-tempered pyjak. She sighed as she looked down at the tiny, three-fingered handprints and scratch marks that the alien primate had left all over her precious N7 armor.

Her mud-obscured gaze traveled down to the cave floor, where a pool of stagnant water rested by her feet. She let out a frustrated _nngh_ as she reluctantly stooped down; there was no way she could fight unless her helmet was clear, and she refused to let a trivial thing like mud render her incapacitated.

_Just do it, Z,_ she chastised herself, sloshing the suspicious-looking water onto her helmet. _After all, beggars can't be choosers, and-_

A door opened to her left. "Uh…Commander?"

_Holy crappers, this is just_not _my day._ Zierrah froze, a handful of water already halfway to her helmet. She immediately stood up and assumed the most authoritative posture she could muster, rounding on her very bewildered lieutenant.

"Did you find anything?" she asked casually, as if she _hadn't_ just been washing her faceplate in a puddle of dubious origin.

"N-no ma'am," he said, trying his best to maintain an even tone and expression. "It's got to be in the next room; that's the only one we haven't checked."

"Well, let's get to it then. After you, Lieutenant," Zierrah replied with a painfully fake smile. As soon as Kaidan slowly turned away to inspect the room, however, she promptly wheeled around and began pounding her fist against her helmet in frustration. _Great. The only other – relatively – normal person on my ship, and now he probably thinks I'm a nutcase_, she derided herself.

_Still, why do you even care what he thinks? He's just a subordinate_, another part of her mind railed back.

_Because I was raised to work with dignity and efficiency. Not…whatever the hell I'm doing wrong on this haywire mission. I want to do things right; I want them to respect me._

_Please,_her traitorous subconscious retorted. _You just want Kaidan and the rest of your crew to approve of you because you've never known anything else._

"Found it!" Kaidan announced, breaking Zierrah out of her obsessive-compulsive inner monologue. He quietly approached a pyjak, which hissed territorially but didn't put up too much resistance when he gently restrained it.

Trying not to remember her earlier pyjak mauling, Zierrah walked up to the irritated primate with as much neutrality as she could manage. She quickly plucked the data core out of its' grimy hands. It scampered away as soon as Kaidan released it, much to Zierrah's hidden relief.

"Well, I guess that's 'mission accomplished'. Good work, lieutenant," she said to Kaidan. All in all, this hadn't been _too_ bad. They'd have to work on team organization and efficiency, of course, but she'd bring that up in a later debriefing.

Kaidan opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by a volley of static from their communicators. Furrowing his brow, he reached up and activated his own. "Come again, Mako team? What's your situation?"

The static cleared up briefly and was replaced by the sounds of heavy gunfire. Zierrah's eyes flew wide as she met Kaidan's equally worried gaze. Aralynn's voice suddenly broke through the cacophony coming in over the channel, "Geth…_bzzt_…our location! Taking fire…we couldn't hold them off…_bzzt_…headed your way!"

"I'm going to assume that last bit wasn't good news," Zierrah deadpanned, already jogging back into the next room with Kaidan on her heels.

"Gonna have to agree with you there, ma'am," he said. The two suddenly froze in their tracks as they heard a distinct stuttering noise echo from the room's multiple entrances. _Geth._

"Get down!" Zierrah hissed quietly. Not waiting for the lieutenant to respond, she planted a hand on his shoulder and shoved him behind a particularly large cluster of crates. Looking around quickly, she spotted a slightly taller stack propped against the wall and ducked behind it just as the first geth prowled into the room.

A few feet away, Kaidan was peering around his cover and taking aim at the lead geth. Zierrah made a soft _psst_ noise to catch his attention. When he looked over at her, still keeping his pistol trained on the geth, she shook her head and mouthed, 'not yet'.

Without another word, Zierrah noiselessly climbed the pyramidal stack until she was situated just behind the top one. She withdrew her sniper rifle and cocked it with only the slightest of noises, anchoring the barrel next to the crate she was using for cover.

She did not fire. Rather, she leaned against the wall and hunkered down even more, so as to make her black armor appear one with the damp stone surface. With as little movement as possible, she then scanned the room as the geth began to file in.

_Two…four…eight geth in the room. I might be able to take out…four…provided that the one group in the back stays stationary to guard the door._

The other four could be heard progressing through the room, upturning crates and canisters in their search for the data core. Zierrah's heightened senses faintly registered Kaidan nervously shifting behind his cover – _why, oh why, had she deemed it a good idea to hide him in the center of the room?_ – but she quickly pushed the thought out of her mind. She could trust the lieutenant to stave off his fight-or-flight instinct and follow orders.

Zierrah angled her sniper rifle to the side, just enough that she could get a clear shot at the farthest geth. She let out a silent breath, picturing the bullet sailing through the air like a descending bird of prey…

Gunfire echoed through the voluminous chamber like so many crashing thunderstorms.

The robot fell silently, almost gracefully; its' strange, brightly-lit oculus pierced straight through by the sniper round.

Kaidan was holding his breath, pistol held at the ready. He could hear the geth's clinking footsteps about to round the corner and discover his hiding place…

Suddenly, a shot rang out and the robot faltered, glancing behind to look at its' fallen comrade. Kaidan took the window of opportunity and activated his omnitool, fingers dancing across the glowing surface as he desperately entered in command after command.

He let out a silent breath of relief as the distracted geth shorted out with a quiet _bzzt_. Deftly, he caught the chassis before it hit the ground and gave away their position. As he noiselessly set down the robot shell, he kept his eyes trained on the Commander. Her signal would be silent, swift, and precise; he needed to be ready for it.

Zierrah let a shaky breath pass her lips as one of the patrolling geth walked over to investigate the fallen chassis, which was now leaking a steady stream of oil and a viscous white fluid. As the hapless geth oriented itself straight in the center of her crosshairs, she stilled herself and pulled the trigger again.

Thunder rang off the gleaming walls once more, and the geth collapsed atop its' predecessor.

One of the guards appeared to notice the discharge from her sniper rifle, however, and suddenly three glowing 'eyes' were staring right at her. Zierrah holstered her rifle and motioned Kaidan forward in one smooth, silent motion.

"On your two and ten," was all she said, indicating the pair of geth that was closing in on the lieutenant's position. Trusting her lieutenant to take care of himself, she then vaulted over her cover – _place weight on the off-hand, legs straight out, ankles together…don't give in to gravity, keep steady_– and landed in a silent crouch; the very picture of elegant lethality.

The geth raised their weapons at the same time her omnitool flared to life. Zierrah's shields had barely taken any damage by the time the middle geth exploded, momentarily stunning its' companions. She wasted no time in pushing herself to her feet and drawing her pistol.

Two extremely well-placed headshots soon followed, and the geth fell one after another. It took a little longer than was necessary, perhaps, but Zierrah was a sniper by nature. She didn't believe in squandering ammo on 'spray and pray' tactics when one could simply use their intellect and go straight for the killshot.

She inclined her head to the side and, like clockwork, a geth clattered to the floor behind her. This one, however, was not her doing; its' chestplate still bore the telltale blue glow of a biotic warp. Kaidan's second opponent was already a crumpled pile of steel, lying beneath a glowing impact point in the cave's wall.

The cave fell silent as Kaidan stalked out from behind his hiding spot. "Ma'am," he spoke up, masking the undertone of concern behind a casual nod.

"Lieutenant," she replied just as smoothly. Her face remained impassive as she angled her head toward the door. Already, more robotic stuttering could be heard in the distance.

Kaidan didn't break his gaze at Zierrah's visor, automatically looking to her for guidance. He couldn't help but do so. Gone was the stressed, semi-awkward, forcedly cheerful Shepard that he'd known since Eden Prime. In her place was a warrior with eyes of steel and the grace of an angel. It wasn't hard to imagine why the Alliance chose her for such a role; in battle, Zierrah Shepard was the deliberate, strong, naturally imposing leader that one couldn't help but fall into line with.

"Let's move out," she said, turning to look at him with such blunt determination in her eyes that he couldn't help but feel his own courage bolstered in response.

Kaidan wordlessly stepped forward to take point.

* * *

><p>Some time later, the pair emerged out into the sunlight, singed and weary but very much alive. At the very least, they were much better off than the trail of destroyed geth they'd left in their wake. Their eyes immediately focused on the robot-littered landscape, hope slowly amassing in their hearts as a large, white, metallic vehicle shifted from behind a rock formation.<p>

Their jaws – and hearts – dropped in unison when a geth colossus promptly walked into view and set its' targeting scope on them.

Zierrah was reeling with confusion. Where were Aralynn and Garrus? Had the Mako somehow been swept up by the geth dropship? More importantly, how were the two of them supposed to survive an attacking colossus when they were armed with only pistols and a sniper rifle?

She got her answer in the form of the Mako soaring over the nearest hilltop, flying through the air with turrets blazing and obnoxious whooping coming over the comm channel. Zierrah and Kaidan brought up their hands to shield their eyes from the sun, not quite believing what they were seeing. Together, they watched in awe as the vehicle descended in all its' clumsy, two-ton glory and landed neatly on the colossus' 'head'.

Aralynn wasn't done yet, apparently. Still dragging half of the colossus' flattened chassis on its back bumper, the Mako then closed in on a trio of approaching geth troopers. The aforementioned troopers were promptly wiped out with a stylishly-executed 360-degree spin, complete with its own miniature shower of topsoil.

"Hell yeah!" Aralynn cheered over the radio. She steered the Mako over to the mine's entrance and brought it to a stop. Popping out of the hatch and leaning on her forearms, she drawled, "Took you ladies long enough to get out of there. Got the data chip?"

Zierrah held up the chip between her index and middle fingers. "And where'd you go?" she asked.

Aralynn just smiled and pointed down at the Mako's treads, which were clogged with bits and pieces of geth. "There were a _lot_ of reinforcements," she shrugged.

Garrus shouldered past Aralynn just then, ignoring her loud protests as he pushed her aside to look down at the damage. "Craaaaap," he groaned. "It's going to take forever to scrub all that out."

"Suck it up, Garrus," Aralynn retorted. "What do you think I pay you for?"

"You don't pay me at all, Shepard," he replied as the two settled back down into their seats.

"Exactly," Aralynn said, propping her feet up on the dashboard and grinning as if she'd just made perfect sense. "Tell you what; I'll give you twenty credits if you do it with Alenko's toothbrush."

Ignoring Kaidan's incredulous expression as he attempted to maneuver into the backseat, Garrus hummed thoughtfully. "Make it fifty and we've got a deal."

"You are a very shrewd turian," Aralynn replied, leaning to the side to make room for Zierrah to get in. Her face contorted into a thoughtful scowl before she concluded, "I like you."

"_Aralynn_," Zierrah intoned threateningly as she sent a very parental glare their way. "No bribing crewmembers to prank other crewmembers."

"You _never_ let me have any fun," Aralynn muttered.

"Ground team, the cavalry has arrived!" Joker suddenly exclaimed over the radio. Sure enough, the Normandy's sleek silhouette could be seen descending from the sky. "Preparing to make a strafing run…targeting hostiles…wait, why is the scanner showing no hostiles?"

"Sorry bub, you're a little late," Aralynn replied. "Look out the viewport."

"Holy-" he exclaimed upon seeing the verdant landscape littered with glowing white debris. "Remind me to never get in a vehicle with you. _Ever_."

"Just bring us in, flyboy."

* * *

><p>Zierrah barely caught Kaidan's subtle hiss of pain as he slammed his locker shut. It was quiet, subdued, much like the way he communicated everything else; but regardless, it was there. She turned away from her conversation with Ashley and quirked an eyebrow in his direction.<p>

"Everything okay back there, Lieutenant?" she asked.

"Not quite sure, ma'am." Kaidan grimaced and fingered his injured collarbone. "Ah, yup, that's definitely fractured," he muttered.

"Let me walk you to medbay," Zierrah offered. "I was going to stop by there myself."

"If you insist, Commander."

"Ma'am," Ashley saluted her goodbye, considering herself dismissed.

Zierrah and Kaidan walked to the elevator side-by-side, making small talk as they went. "I think I'm definitely going to have a talk with Aralynn concerning her driving habits. Maybe have her take a few informal classes with Joker."

"It would be _highly_ appreciated, Commander," Kaidan noted as he pushed the button for the mess hall. "No offense, but her driving style is a bit…" He faltered, trying to come up with a word that was descriptive yet diplomatic. Criticizing your commanding officer's sister didn't exactly make for easy conversation.

"Irresponsible? Reckless? Borderline suicidal?" Zierrah supplied. "If you've got a complaint, Lieutenant, don't hold back. If a member of my crew needs to be put back into line, you can rest assured that I'll take care of it. It doesn't matter if Aralynn is my sister or not."

"That's good to know, ma'am," Kaidan said with a relieved smile.

The elevator doors slid open once more, and the two walked past the mess hall and into the medbay. They sat in companionable silence as Doctor Chakwas did her routine scans, analyzed the results, and 'hmmed' over the diagnoses that showed up on her terminal.

"Personally, I don't think either of you would've been able to fight through the pain without your suits' automatic medigel-dispensing function," the doctor said. "There are several stress fractures on Lieutenant Alenko's collarbone, and the both of you appear to be suffering from mild cases of whiplash. No need to fret, though; a few hypospray injections and a good night's rest should do the trick."

"Any chance you could put a rush order on those driving lessons?" Kaidan joked, wincing as the medigel's numbing effects gradually wore off.

Zierrah sighed and lifted a hand to her own aching neck. Oh, Aralynn was going to have so much more than 'driving lessons' to deal with when she got a hold of her.

* * *

><p>The Normandy's CIC was slowly easing into the sleepy lull between shifts. It was the time of day when the normally hectic flurry of activity mellowed down into a contented thrum, and many a tired crewmember could start daydreaming of warm dinner and a nice, long session in their sleeping pod. Even the usually dedicated Kaidan Alenko allowed himself to relax in his seat, typing just a fraction slower than usual.<p>

So, it was not with any measure of subtlety that Aralynn Shepard barreled through the doorway – obviously having just received Zierrah's promised lecture – and began marching to the bridge in a fit of rage. She stopped just short of the copilot's seat; arms crossed, feet together, and eyes narrowed in a venomous glare. Kaidan purposely refused to meet her gaze, continuing his work with renewed fervor.

"Alenko," she snapped. "You're on maintenance duty from here on out. Go fix the panel in the mess hall."

"I wasn't aware anything was wrong with it, ma'am," he said.

"It's _flickering_," she gritted out. "Now go fix it."

"Uh, Shepard? All the panels on this ship flicker," he explained.

"Yeah, well, that one's flickering extra brightly, and it's giving me a freaking migraine. So _go fix it._"

"With all due respect, ma'am, I'm not going to fix something that's clearly not broken." Kaidan turned back to his station, feeling a wave of smug satisfaction rise up as she huffed and stormed away.

Joker looked at Kaidan as if he had just announced he had a deathwish. He shook his head amusedly, "Dude, you're _really_ going to wish you hadn't done that."

"Oh, and why is that?" Kaidan retorted.

Joker simply shrugged and pointed to a screen in front of them. It showed a surveillance feed from the mess hall. They watched as Aralynn promptly stormed into view, withdrew her shotgun, blasted a hole in the offending panel, then turned on her heel and ascended the stairs. A few moments later, she appeared behind them again; this time with a grin on her face.

"There, it's broken," she announced cheerfully. "Happy now, Alenko?"

Kaidan was still staring at the surveillance feed like a gaping fish. He stuttered, "What are…why'd you…_are you crazy?_"

"Yes. Yes, I am," Aralynn replied matter-of-factly.

"Joker, are you seeing this?" Kaidan exploded indignantly. "Don't just sit there, send that surveillance recording to the Commander and-"

"Oh, what was that, Kaidan?" the pilot interrupted cheekily, cupping a hand to his ear. "Sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of this vid being deleted!"

Kaidan blanched, a horrified expression etched onto his face, and looked at the pilot's terminal. Lo and behold, a message window was on-screen, announcing the file's untimely demise.

"Now go," Aralynn ordered, pointing down the hall. Kaidan sighed in defeat – there was no way he could win this if both the pilot _and_ the marine tag-teamed him – and trudged off to fix the much-abused panel.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Aralynn and Joker traded devious smirks and high-fived each other.

"Oh _snap_, that was cold," Aralynn exulted as she slipped into the co-pilot's seat.

"Revenge _is_ best served Normandy-style," Joker agreed.

"Don't I know it. Now where's that thing you called me up here for?" she asked, curiously glancing over at the pilot. Her smirk transformed into an open-mouthed grin as he activated his omnitool and showed her the file.

The screenshot from the Mako's video feed was _priceless_. Aralynn's arms were thrown into the air and she was clearly cheering in excitement, Garrus was glaring straight ahead with an 'I am not amused' expression etched onto his face, and Zierrah and Kaidan were cringing back in their seats, eyes and mouths wide open as they screamed in terror.

"Do me a favor and have that printed out, will you? I want _at least_ five copies to hang up in my quarters."

"You got it, Shepard."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Surprise! I am, in fact, still alive! Sorry guys... the start of school, then holidays, then midterms, absolutely kicked the crap out of my spare time. Hopefully you all can forgive me, as I'm already five pages into the next chapter? *hopeful smile*<strong>

***dodges barrage of tomatoes and one rogue flying toaster***

**As always, a shoutout goes to my beta reader writtenrhythm for proofreading this!**

**Okay, so, pertaining to this chapter...I got a lot of requests for more Zierrah and Kaidan, and the result was that beautiful little combat scene up there. Plus, I got to define their professional relationship - and Kaidan's personal admiration for Zierrah - a little better here. So thanks, various readers who politely demanded more Shenko content. ;) Hopefully now, Zierrah's character is a little less two-dimensional, now that I've revealed her to be a more tactical, ninja-like fighter, who is a bit of a spaz and has some deep-seated self-confidence issues due to the uber-high standards she's had to deal with all her life. Cause, c'mon, practically _everybody_ has a Shepard who's got superhuman charisma and an excellent poker face. I'd like to see what would happen if we humanized the traditional concept of Shepard's character a bit, and allowed her to be transparent where her flaws are concerned.**

**Next chapter is Feros, and you know what that means. Yup; Aralynn-related hilarity, now with alien zombies! :D**

**Review, if you please. :)**


	5. Surrounded by Idiots

Chapter 5

Soundtrack:

Aralynn's driving song – Like a G6 by Far East Movement

Zierrah's song for enduring Aralynn's driving – What Doesn't Kill You by Kelly Clarkson

* * *

><p>Joker plodded on slowly but steadily, staving off the sweet siren song of sleep in a valiant attempt to combat his arch nemesis.<p>

Much to his chagrin, the Normandy's stairs appeared to be winning.

The pilot sighed and ran a hand over his face. He needed coffee, _now_. Of course, what he really needed was to simply accept the fact that his shift had ended and go to his sleeping pod; but the extra hour or two was that one variable, the last bit of youthful rebellion standing between him and the robotic 'fly, sleep, wake, repeat' routine that seemed to invade his mentality a little more every day.

He had been forced to give so many things up in lieu of his career. This would not be one of them.

At long, long last, he finally reached the bottom step and heard the satisfying _swoosh_ of the automatic door. He stepped out into the wave of cool air that cascaded in from the mess hall, eagerly anticipating the hour he would spend with nothing but a warm drink in his hands and the soothing hum of the drive core to relax away the frenzied, buzzing chaos in the back of his mind.

Alas, it was not to be so.

None other than Aralynn Shepard, the very embodiment of chaos itself, was sitting at the mess hall table with her back turned to him. Even in the small confines of the mess hall chair, she was curled up rather comfortably, apparently engrossed in a vid playing on her omnitool. She was dressed in civvies - an old, blackArcturusMilitaryAcademyt-shirt, paired with some bedraggled skinny jeans that seemed to be more holes than denim - and her head was bedecked with a pair of garish red headphones. To complete the look, a chewed-up lollipop stick hung slack from her mouth.

For the first time, Joker felt like an intruder on his own ship. It was as if Aralynn had established a sanctuary here, one where she had reluctantly settled in and allowed herself to forego her brash, temperamental shell for a while. She had obviously not intended to encounter visitors, and the smart thing to do would have been to make a systematic retreat while his presence was still unnoticed.

But no, he decided. It had been a long day, and he would have his coffee - erratic commanding officers be damned.

The pilot took a bold step forward…then hesitated. One did not simply walk into Aralynn's personal space; at least, not without a gameplan. He sighed and assessed the situation before him, eying the uncharacteristically aloof figure standing between him and his prize.

Until then, he'd never noticed how shockingly thin she was. She had some lean muscle, as all marines did, but she was so scrawny that her leg was probably half the diameter of his arm. Of course, if one normally dressed as she did - wearing baggy cargo pants and a studded belt, with a pair of shotguns strapped to her back – one's figure, or lack thereof, was bound to be the last thing anyone noticed.

It was probably intentional, he realized. Even dressed as casually as she was, Aralynn had clearly made an attempt to draw attention away from her figure. A jumbled collection of bracelets - ranging in variety from strings of childish, brightly-colored beads to vicious-looking leather wristbands covered in metal studs – adorned her arms from wrist to elbow. Some weren't even bracelets, really; he could even see a few necklace-chains and strips of ragged cloth bound around her forearms as well.

Still, there was no hiding the fact that she looked…frail. Breakable. The words felt like heresy even as he thought them.

_That can't be healthy_, Joker thought with a sympathetic wince. _I know biotics are supposed to have a crazy metabolism or whatever, but dang…_

Seeing her like this was weird. The Shepard everybody knew was blunt, unpredictable, and tough as nails…if not just a little bit crazy, too. She was the kind of person who made you want to shrink away and cower in the face of her strong, overpowering personality.

Aralynn flinched in her seat and let out a gasp of surprise, startling Joker out of his mildly-shocked reverie. Curiously, he craned to the side to see what she was watching. In return, he got a rudimentary glimpse of an old zombie film playing across the screen of her omnitool.

She slunk down in her seat, propping one foot against the edge of the mess hall table as the plot's tension increased. He could just barely hear her mumbling frenzied criticisms to the on-screen character.

Joker smirked deviously. Forget being tactful - this was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.

As quietly as he could manage, he slunk to the side and hobbled up behind her chair. The mess hall lights had been dimmed – for her little movie marathon, he presumed – just enough so that he didn't cast a shadow over the screen as he peered over her shoulder. The poor, helpless side-character now had about a dozen zombies cornering him, and was frantically pulling the trigger of his empty pistol.

Aralynn's shoulders tensed up and she held her breath. Sniggering quietly, Joker leaned one of the crutches against the wall and held his hand out. She was going to kill him for this – either that, or actually make him do push-ups, which was the same thing anyway – but it would be _so_ worth it.

Just as the on-screen monsters grabbed their panicking victim, he lunged forward and clamped a hand down on her shoulder.

Aralynn jumped and shrieked, a biotic corona flaring around her body as her natural fight-or-flight response was triggered. She tried to stand up and face her 'attacker', but apparently forgot that she had been resting her foot against the table, as she only succeeded in kicking away from the table and toppling the chair in a rather ungraceful fashion.

Joker couldn't quit laughing. Seeing her reaction had been funny enough; but watching the fearsome Aralynn Shepard, destroyer of thresher maws and batarian pirates, actually fall over in her seat with her spindly chicken-legs frantically kicking in the air…it was just too much.

He had just begun to regain his breath when Aralynn swiped the hair away from her eyes and zeroed in on him with a narrowed, hawk-like gaze. Her violet eyes immediately transformed into pools of sparking, electric rage, and she picked herself up off the floor with an air of barely-repressed fury.

Suddenly, the whole idea didn't seem so funny anymore.

"Um…easy there, Shepard," he said, backing up as quickly as his crutches would allow. "My other crutch just, uh, slipped, and I stumbled, and _oh dear Lord, please don't kill me with that chair!_"

Aralynn paused, still holding the aforementioned chair aloft with a biotic field. She narrowed her eyes at Joker and said, "Yuh-huh. And why should I believe you?"

Joker grinned sheepishly, "Why _shouldn't_ you believe me?"

Aralynn let the chair drop to the ground with a clatter and crossed her arms. "Nice try, flyboy. See this?" she asked, pointing to the nefarious, semi-predatory smile she wore. "This face means that you have officially incurred my wrath. I won't throw the chair, but I shall tell you now: my retribution will be swift, silent, and very, very creative." With a smug grin on her face, she sauntered around the pilot and into the captain's quarters.

Late-night coffee breaks completely forgotten, Joker stared ahead in horror and let out a soft 'meep'. Whatever part of his mind that had spawned the idea of pranking Aralynn was now conspicuously silent, and the rest of his consciousness was now screaming at him for actually doing such an utterly suicidal thing.

Joker quickly made for the hallway once again, willing to brave the stairways if it would get him to the relative safety – and abundance of witnesses – in the CIC. "Ah crap," he muttered as he began his ascent to the bridge. "I am _so_ dead."

* * *

><p>"I don't like this," Aralynn said as they disembarked the Normandy. She crossed her arms and looked over at Zierrah, "I mean, an entire colony just losing contact out of nowhere? That just screams <em>mega-disaster<em> to me."

Behind her, Garrus tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Don't you think you're overreacting just a little bit, Shepard? Name one time that has ever-"

"Akuze," Aralynn said pointedly, glaring at the turian in an 'I dare you to contradict me' manner.

"Point taken," Garrus promptly replied.

Zierrah shook her head in disbelief. "Aralynn, just look at this place; do you think a thresher maw could possibly thrive here? It's probably just a malfunction with their comm system. That's why I brought Lieutenant Alenko with us," she said, nodding to the marine behind her.

"Please don't remind me that he's here," Aralynn muttered, hunching her shoulders in irritation. "I like to just pretend my shadow grew an incredibly stupid hairstyle."

"You know, ma'am, I really can't thank you enough for making me feel like a part of the team," Kaidan deadpanned sarcastically. "You can just feel the love."

"Actually," Zierrah cut in. "That's the other reason I brought him. It's become kind of apparent that there's been some…unresolved friction…between you two-"

"Duh," Aralynn interrupted with a roll of her eyes. "So are we leaving Alenko on this junk heap or what? C'mon, sis, make my day."

"_As I was saying_," Zierrah gritted out, giving her younger sister 'the look', "I'm concerned that this is going to pose an issue during missions. You two obviously need to learn to work with each other on a professional level. So, as of this moment, we're switching squad-partners. Garrus, you're with me, and Aralynn, you're with-"

"_Don't you dare even finish that sentence_," Aralynn snarled. "There is no way I'm going to investigate an unknown threat with…with _that_ watching my back!" She pointed to Kaidan and glared defiantly at her sister.

"Again, you can just feel the love…" Kaidan muttered under his breath.

"Oh yes, you are!" Zierrah shouted at Aralynn. "Or else you are going to get your insubordinate little arse back on that ship and watch teamwork-building vids until we return!"

"You wouldn't," Aralynn whispered, her eyes narrowing in a challenge.

"Try me," Zierrah replied, crossing her arms and intensifying 'the look'.

"Fine," Aralynn grumbled. She unholstered her shotgun and turned to face the docking bay, nodding her head to signal Kaidan to switch places. "But consider yourself disowned until further notice."

"Don't tempt me to break out the champagne, Ari," Zierrah muttered as she waited for Garrus to form up behind her.

"Oh, you won't be so smug when I die because Skippy here got distracted by a moth!" Aralynn snapped over her shoulder.

"You're being paranoid," Zierrah insisted. "I'm telling you, there's nothing wrong here."

Aralynn's reply was cut short by the appearance of a frantically-sprinting colonist. Both sisters raised an eyebrow at the out-of-breath man, who spluttered, "You're with theAlliance, right? Oh, thank God you're here; we need you to get down to Zhu's Hope and speak with Fai Dan immediately. There's…there's-" The man wheezed and leaned on his knees for a moment, holding up a finger to stall the soldiers. "Agh, hold on, I just need a quick breather. So…many…freaking…stairs…"

Aralynn rolled her eyes and grabbed the colonist by the collar, shouting, "Sweet dookie, man, just spit it out!"

"Aralynn," Zierrah intoned with a warning look. "No shaking the colonists!"

"Yes, _mother_," Aralynn groaned. She promptly released the man and asked in a tone dripping with false sweetness, "Now, do you think you could _possibly_ tell us what happened to these lovely colonists, pretty please? Giant alien worm attack, perhaps?"

"Uhh…no," the colonist replied. "It's the-"

Aralynn and Zierrah flinched back in unison as the colonist was suddenly taken out by a sniper round. "Geth!" Garrus screamed, reaching for his sniper rifle even as he smoothly slid behind cover.

"Hah!" Aralynn shouted, pointing triumphantly at Zierrah.

"Yeah, yeah. You were right," Zierrah muttered. She crouched down next to Garrus and locked her scope onto the doorway. "Aralynn, Kaidan – _move_!"

Kaidan peered around the stone slab he was using for cover and nodded to Aralynn. Together, they ducked into the open and threw out their hands, lifting the three geth into the air with their biotics.

"Open season, bud," Zierrah said to Garrus as the two raised their sniper rifles. She peered through the scope and deftly lined up the shot, piercing the robot straight through its oculus. With the slightest of movements, she centered her crosshairs on the middle geth and downed it as well.

"That's two for me," the two snipers declared in unison. Zierrah raised an eyebrow as Garrus flared his mandibles in surprise.

The turian raised his scope once more and zoomed in on the deactivated chassis. Lo and behold, two identical bullet-holes lay side by side on the geth's chestplate. "Well, I'll be damned," he muttered.

Zierrah raised her eyebrows even further and started to laugh. "Better be careful, sis," she called to her sister. "I might just end up keeping this one."

"Don't even joke about that," Aralynn seethed.

Zierrah grinned and shook her head amusedly. "Ah well, I had to try."

The group's banter was cut short as another volley of fire rang out from the hallway. All four soldiers ducked under cover, hands over their heads as they crouched down close to the floor. Garrus risked a peek over the guardrail, ducking back down nanoseconds before a bullet impacted the spot where his head had once been.

"There are three more," he gasped. "Can't get a clear shot at them, though – Shepard and Alenko are going to have to handle this."

Aralynn turned to Kaidan and ordered, "Barrier, now!"

Kaidan did as instructed, holding his hand out and forming a solid wall of biotic energy. "Alright ma'am, now what-" He was promptly seized by the collar and shoved out into the synthetics' line of fire. Bullets pelted the azure shield like raindrops, but the marine managed to keep his concentration despite it all.

Aralynn smoothly spun out behind him, aiming her shotgun over his shoulder and downing a geth in one fluid motion. She let the weapon clatter to the floor as two orbs of biotic energy formed in her hands. Kaidan, sensing what she was about to do, dropped the barrier and rolled behind cover. Aralynn stepped forward and hurled both warp attacks with deadly accuracy, smirking as the orbs arced through the air and slammed each geth directly in the torso.

"You know, you could_ warn_ me next time!" Kaidan snapped as he got to his feet.

Aralynn merely reclaimed her shotgun and sauntered past the flustered marine. "Aww, but where would be the fun in that?" she replied with a devious grin.

Kaidan opened his mouth to reply, but stopped short when he saw a figure moving several meters behind Aralynn. The geth materialized from a shadowy corner just as she was about to deliver another sarcastic comment. Kaidan knew what he had to do. Terrible leadership skills notwithstanding, she was still his commanding officer, and he had his duty as anAlliancemarine.

"Shep, look out!" he yelled, shoving Aralynn aside with one arm and letting loose a biotic attack with the other. In the next moment, he was crouching in front of her prone form, letting loose a volley of pistol fire into the stunned synthetic.

Another hidden geth popped out from behind a corner. Kaidan barely managed to drop the pistol and raise another biotic barrier in time to deflect the gunfire.

Aralynn sprung into action, creating a forcefield around the geth and hurtling it towards them. Right as the metallic chassis was about to hit the duo, however, she raised both firearms and shot it point-blank.

As the sparking chassis tumbled to the ground, Kaidan let out a sigh of relief. He stood and offered a hand to help Aralynn up. "Well, look at that," he said with a smile. "Guess we make a pretty good team after all, huh ma'am?"

Aralynn raised an eyebrow and assumed a look of accepting contemplation. For a moment, hope welled within Kaidan, and he almost, _almost_ began to believe that he might actually be starting to win over his insane, short-tempered commanding officer.

She shrugged, "Nope…I still hate your guts. But hey, I've gotta give you props for that save."

Kaidan sighed wearily, "I guess a little bit of appreciation really is too much to ask from you, isn't it?"

Aralynn smirked and tossed Kaidan his pistol. "Just shut up and fight, Alenko."

* * *

><p>Kaidan and Garrus stared in horror at the monstrosity before them, their eyes almost comically wide as they stood there; frozen with paralyzing, mind-numbing fear.<p>

"Oh, dear God," Kaidan breathed, his eye twitching ever-so-slightly.

"I don't want to die," Garrus groaned. He hid his face in his talons and rocked back and forth, trying to garner even the smallest amount of comfort in this moment of unparalleled tribulation.

"Stand firm, gentlemen," Zierrah declared softly. She stood tall, proud, and unflinching; ever the picture of calm, collected leadership in the face of danger. "We _will_ make it through this. Steel your minds and your hearts, keep your wits about you, and _never say die_ – do you understand me?"

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Kaidan and Garrus replied in unison.

Zierrah nodded, her jaw set firmly and her voice cold as steel. "Good. Now let's do this."

"Dibs!" Aralynn yelled, already climbing into the Mako parked in the middle of the half-collapsed garage.

"How many injuries do you think we'll walk away with this time?" Kaidan whispered to Garrus, as Zierrah reluctantly made her way into the vehicle.

"Spirits, I'll be glad if she doesn't drive us off the freaking overpass," he replied.

"True," Kaidan agreed. "Just in case, though, it was nice serving with you, Vakarian."

"Same to you, Alenko," Garrus said, nodding nostalgically. "Same to you."

Aralynn pounded on the horn and stuck her head out of the hatch. "Will you two old ladies stop gossiping and get in the rover already?" she bellowed.

As the two men settled into their respective seats – Kaidan in the back and Garrus in front of the turret controls – Aralynn scrolled through the on-board computer, trying to find a particular audio file. "Aha!" she declared triumphantly, pressing the 'play' button with a flourish. An old twenty-first-century pop song began to play, and Aralynn began mouthing the lyrics with fervor. The others stared in shock as she actually started dancing in her seat, shutting her eyes to soak up the music.

Kaidan turned to Zierrah, confusion written all over his face. "Should I be afraid?"

"Be afraid, Alenko," Zierrah sighed. "Be _very_ afraid."

The beat intensified, and Aralynn gunned the accelerator. The Mako shot out of the garage, swerving dangerously as Aralynn deftly wove her way between chunks of debris and gaps in the ancient highway. She kept singing along to the music, not even missing a beat when she ascended up a ramp and threw the Mako into a tailspin, running over a squad of geth and stopping only mere inches from the edge of the highway.

Aralynn only fell silent when a male singer began to rap. She then finger-gunned the turian in the passenger seat, declaring, "Take it away, Garrus!" with an open-mouthed grin.

Garrus blinked. He looked from squadmate to squadmate in disbelief, an 'Is she serious?' expression written all over his face. At length, he deadpanned, "Turians _don't_ rap, Shepard. It's just…it's just not done."

"You're such a buzzkill," Aralynn muttered with a roll of her eyes.

Zierrah looked out her window, trying to conceal both silent laughter and a scream of terror as Aralynn suddenly threw the Mako into reverse again. Conveniently, the remaining geth trooper had decided to come out from behind its cover just then, and was promptly introduced to the Mako's rear bumper.

"Swag," Aralynn declared cheerfully. She stomped down on the accelerator again, charging the Mako up an unstable-looking pile of debris to get to the next overpass.

In the backseat, Zierrah turned to look at Kaidan. The marine was trying to put on a brave face, though the paleness of his skin and the light sheen of sweat over his face belied his anxiety. The Mako swerved and rocked again as Aralynn tried to 'drift' around a corner and ended up driving on only the right-side wheels for a moment. Zierrah winced in sympathy as the lieutenant reflexively grasped the sides of the interior and closed his eyes, mouthing a silent prayer.

"Hey, Lieutenant," she said softly. When he turned to look at her, she activated her omni-tool and sent him an audio file. "Listen to that."

Kaidan set the song to play in his helmet's speakers, looking at her in confusion. "What-" The song reached its chorus then, and his eyes opened wide in amusement. "Permission to speak freely, Commander?" he asked.

"Granted," Zierrah shrugged.

"I can't believe you really just did that." He shook his head, a grin slowly making its way over his face.

"Fine, just suffer in silence," Zierrah teased him back. "After all, who needs humor when you're speeding down a crumbling highway at breakneck speeds?"

"Should a near-death experience be this amusing?" Kaidan asked. "Cause frankly, I'm starting to get concerned here."

Zierrah leaned back in her seat, slightly more relaxed now that she was starting to enjoy the banter. "Just try not to think too much about reality's slow descent into madness…or rapping turians, for that matter, cause it's pretty much the same thing."

"I'll be sure to store away that little nugget of wisdom, Commander," Kaidan laughed.

* * *

><p>"Here we are, ladies," Aralynn announced as she pulled up in front of the ExoGeni building. When no response came, she turned to look at her squadmates and rolled her eyes at their semi-catatonic state. "Oh come <em>on<em>, it wasn't that bad!"

The comm system flared to life. "_Uh, Shepard…yeah, it was. At one point, I nearly had to come and rescue you guys cause you were dangling off the overpass by your two front wheels! And what about that one time where the Mako got stuck cause you tried to drive over a crate instead of around it? And that other time when-"_

"What was that, flyboy?" Aralynn asked sweetly. "Cause it sounded a whole lot like, 'Sheppie, please deal out a double-dose of revenge. I'm just asking for it.'"

_"…Point taken. So, y'know…excellent driving, ma'am. I was especially impressed with how you managed to get the Mako vertically wedged against the floor and wall of that tunnel. Not just anyone could manage _that_."_

"Do the superior rank and crazy-powerful biotics mean _nothing_ to you?" she snapped.

_"Nah, not really. I mean, you'd probably fly this ship straight into the nearest sun if I wasn't here," _he replied nonchalantly.

"I hate you," she grumbled.

_"I'll just count that one as a win," _Joker declared smugly. _"Alright Shep, I'm out."_

Aralynn switched off the Mako's comm system and made choking motions with her hands. Just her luck - the most insubordinate man on her crew just _had_ to be the only one she couldn't literally kick back into line.

She shelved the thought under 'Considerations for Revenge: To Be Exacted Later', and turned to face the backseat. They still had a job to do.

"Hey, sis! _Sis!_" Aralynn shouted, snapping her fingers in front of Zierrah's face. Nothing happened. She sighed and pointed to some faraway location behind her, deadpanning, "Oh look, a civilian in danger…"

Zierrah shook her head and looked around wildly. "What? _Where?_" she asked.

Aralynn snickered, "Works every time."

* * *

><p>The four soldiers gathered around the entrance to the ExoGeni building; Aralynn and Zierrah on the right, and Kaidan and Garrus on the left.<p>

"I see one geth stalker and a juggernaut," Zierrah murmured, tracing the interior with her sniper rifle's scope. "How about you, Garrus?"

"Three ground troops and another stalker," the turian replied, looking through his own scope. "Alright, Commander, how do you want to play this?"

Zierrah hummed as she observed the activity for a few more seconds. "Okay…looks like the stalkers stop at identical points on those columns every thirty seconds. You and I will snipe them simultaneously, then the second team will storm the area. Aralynn will hold up a barrier to allow Kaidan to take out the ground troops. I'll leave it up to them to figure out how they'll deal with the juggernaut."

"Sounds like a plan," Garrus replied.

"Umm…about the whole 'protecting Alenko' part…" Aralynn cut in. "Seriously, can't you just let me do my thing? I'd probably be able to raze through those geth before his shields even fail."

Kaidan's incredulous voice came over their helmet-communicators, "Are you hearing this, Commander? With all due respect, ma'am, I'm starting to have some serious reservations about-"

"Okay, look," Zierrah interrupted, exasperation evident in her voice. "The two of you are squad-partners, and you are going to watch each other's backs. This team is nothing without _trust_, and I do _not_ need soldiers who can't understand that simple truth," she declared firmly. "Do I make myself clear?"

"…Yes, ma'am," Kaidan replied.

"Whatever," Aralynn muttered.

Marginally satisfied with their answers, Zierrah raised her scope back up to eye-level. The geth stalkers were making their rounds again; it was almost time to take the shot. Quietly and evenly, Zierrah announced, "Taking the shot in five…four…three…two…one." The pale white figure suddenly filled her scope, and she pulled the trigger. Both synthetics fell to the ground in tandem.

"_Go!_" Aralynn bellowed. She leaped into the entrance, holding up a blue barrier even before the surprised geth could begin to fire. Behind her, she could sense Kaidan's own biotics flaring to life, and she was almost taken by surprise when a ball of warp energy suddenly sailed past her head. She walked forward at a steady pace, straining to keep up the barrier long enough for Kaidan to get within firing range.

"Hurry it _up_, Alenko," she snarled. She could feel her biotic amp beginning to overheat, and the barrier in front of her was already beginning to flicker out of existence.

Kaidan unleashed a volley of fire, cursing quietly as the pistol overheated. "Just give me a second, Shepard," he replied. When his firearm was back in working order, he declared, "Alright…break formation…_now_!"

He sprinted away from Aralynn and toward the remaining trooper. Ignoring his armor's steadily-depleting shield, he threw his arm back and, with a single sweeping motion, flung the geth upwards. A quick wave of his omnitool was enough to fry the stunned synthetic in mid-air.

Meanwhile, Aralynn was charging toward the heightened platform where the juggernaut was taking refuge. She hefted a leg over the concrete half-wall and threw herself into a spin as she cleared the floor, using her momentum to hurtle a biotic singularity towards the geth.

Aralynn sauntered forward, slowly reaching for the two holsters on her back. "I win," she smirked. Her shotguns snapped forward and were promptly emptied into the suspended synthetic.

"Now _that_ is what I'm talking about!" Zierrah praised the two as she jogged up to them, hefting her sniper rifle to one hand so she could give them a thumbs-up. "Who knows, maybe I should make you permanent squad-partners."

Kaidan chuckled, "Ah…again, no offense, but I'd rather not." He silently braced himself for Aralynn's sarcastic retribution…but none came.

Aralynn had dropped her still-smoking shotguns and was fumbling to reach the locks on her helmet. With that last display of biotic energy, her amp had overheated; it felt as if the temperature inside her helmet had suddenly escalated to a million degrees. She tore off the piece of armor with a grateful sigh, stepping forward to lean her forehead against the nearest wall as she reveled in the cold, crisp air. Her hands instinctively went up to encircle her head; she knew what came next.

A familiar twinge started in the back of her head and spread around to her forehead, quickly blossoming into a nerve-wracking circlet of pain. Her fingers automatically moved to her omnitool. After having done it so many times, she could command her suit to release the migraine medication without even a single glance at the keypad.

The pain subsided a moment later. It would be back when she took off her armor - thereby cutting off her automatic supply of medicine - but she would be able to get through the mission, at the very least.

Aralynn cringed in annoyance when she looked up and saw her three squadmates staring at her in concern. She could practically feel their misplaced pity washing over her like a tide, slowly scouring away her carefully-constructed image of the intimidating, powerful biotic solder. Rage welled up inside her, and she clutched on to that image with all her might. 'Disability' or no, she would not let her reputation be taken from her. "And what are _you_ lot gawking at?" she snapped. "Haven't you ever seen a former L2 overheat their amp before?"

Garrus and Kaidan looked away awkwardly, but Zierrah was unfazed. "You sure you're okay, sis?" she asked. "I don't want to fight more geth unless you're in top condition."

"Jeez," Aralynn replied with a roll of her eyes. "I'd be more concerned about that forcefield blocking off the ExoGeni building."

"Say what now?" Zierrah deadpanned, her head snapping sideways to regard the doorway. Lo and behold, a purple forcefield covered the building's main entrance. "Oh, for the love of…_that is just what we need. _Alright, Lieutenant, come work with me on this." She and Kaidan stepped up the forcefield, already synching their omnitools as they walked.

Garrus leaned back coolly against a pillar. "So, I haven't had much experience working with biotics, but…is that normal?" he asked Aralynn.

"No," she said simply. "I don't suppose you would find it too surprising that I've got neurological damage?"

"Not really, no," he replied bluntly.

Aralynn shrugged and pushed away from the wall she had been leaning on, sauntering over to see how the technological-minded members of their crew were faring. They were murmuring in some sort of tech-drivel, which immediately caused Aralynn to turn away in boredom and focus on the glowing, shimmery, almost mesmerizing surface of the shield. "I wonder…" she murmured, reaching out a hand to touch it. A jolt of pain shot through her whole body, and she flinched back a step. "Yep, that's electrified," she drawled, shaking her now-numb hand to get feeling back into it.

"I can't phase it," Kaidan declared after a few minutes, hunching his shoulders and glaring down at the lines of data rolling across his omnitool.

"Me neither," Zierrah admitted with a sigh. "Looks like we're going to have to settle for Plan B."

"What's Plan B?" Garrus asked.

Zierrah blinked. "Dammit, we really need to start coming up with more contingency plans," she muttered. "Okay…give me a moment to think here. I'll come up with something."

"Look, a hole!" Aralynn suddenly exclaimed, pointing to a conveniently-located tunnel burrowing deep into the ground.

Zierrah let her head fall into her hand; her forefinger on her temple and her thumb resting on her chin. "Did you, by any chance, forget to take your ADD medication? _Again?_" she asked exasperatedly.

"Maybe…" Aralynn said evasively, her eyes darting from side to side. "But seriously, look – that hole leads into a tunnel, which I'm absolutely sure leads to the ExoGeni sublevels." A self-assured smile made its way over her face as she added, "I say we jump into it."

"Okay, if you could just take a moment and look at how horribly flawed that argument is…_Aralynn! Get back here right now, soldier!_" Alas, the argument was in vain, as Aralynn quickly crossed the few meters between her and the crevasse, then promptly jumped in.

Zierrah sprinted to the edge and peered in, driven by an overwhelming surge of worry. The aforementioned worry promptly changed to ire as she saw her sister, ten feet down and hopelessly unable to climb up, cheekily waving at her from the bottom of the crevasse. "Dear God, it's like the toddler years all over again," she grumbled to herself.

"Oh come on, it's perfectly safe down here!" Aralynn protested. "Hell, I'll even scout ahead and take pictures with my omnitool, if that'll prove it to you!"

"Wait, don't-" Zierrah began, but her younger sister was already disappearing into the darkness of the tunnel. She crouched down and craned her head to look further down the passageway, but all she could see was a corner, barely illuminated by a far-off emergency light. "What do you see?" she called.

"Just a whole lot of debris and puddles," Aralynn's voice came ringing back from within the tunnel. "Oh hey, I think see a varren! And another one, and another one, and another one, and…aw, _crap_." Gunfire immediately began to erupt from the confines of the tunnel.

"You heard the lady! Go, go, _go!_" she bellowed at Kaidan and Garrus, although they were already kneeling down to heft themselves over the tunnel wall. Zierrah did the same; anchoring her palms on the ground, swinging over the side, and deftly landing in a crouch. The two men had already sprinted down the tunnel and into the chamber, judging from the distressed exclamations that came from within.

"_Ow_! You almost took my fringe off!" Garrus complained.

"It's dark in here! Cry me a river," Aralynn retorted.

Another shot sounded off, and this time it was Kaidan who yelled, "Agh! That's _me_, Shepard! You nearly knocked out my shields!"

Aralynn bellowed, "Like I _said_, it's dark!"

"I'm lit up with a biotic shield!"

"There was a varren behind you and I took a calculated risk! Sweet dookie, I'm working with buckshot here, not freaking precision rounds!" she screamed. "Now, less whining and more arse-kicking!"

Zierrah sighed as she moved to join the not-so-shining example of Spectre combat efficiency.

This was going to be a long, _long_ mission.

Stupid Mondays.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yes. Augh, those Mondays. . So, to recap, Kaidan is stuck with Ari for the remainder of the mission (dundunDUNNN), it has been revealed that Aralynn has ADD (really, are any of us surprised?), and she is also apparently a former L2. Note the 'former'. That will be important in later chapters.**

**I know what you're probably thinking. Migraines? L2? Are you working up to a...*le gasp*..._truce_ between Ari and Kaidan? **

**Ahaha. Not a chance. ;)**

**OH...before I forget. I played the Mass Effect 3 demo, did some research on the Wiki, and...yeah. Apparently, Major is actually a rank ABOVE Commander in the ME universe. So, I'm going to go through all the chapters and edit Aralynn's rank to Lieutenant Commander. That way, she is still Zierrah's subordinate, but she still ranks slightly above the rest of Normandy's crew. My apologies in advance for all the story alerts you're going to get, if you have in fact added this story to your story alerts.**

**Okay, so next chapter, we deal with some heavy stuff - mainly Aralynn having flashbacks to Akuze after she loses contact with the Normandy. Don't worry, there will be enough moments of pure, blinding insanity to counter the sadness. :)**

** If you thought the idea of rapping turians was crazeh, just wait till you see what Ari's "revenge" for the zombie prank is. MUHAHAHAHAHA. :3**

**Thank you to writtenrhythm for beta reading this chapter! And thank you to all the people who have reviewed/alerted/faved this story thus far! **

**Alright guys, review time! How do you think Ari and Z will handle the Thorian? Losing contact with the Normandy? How 'bout the zombie colony? What do you think Aralynn's revenge will be? Will Zierrah EVER be observant enough to notice the panel Ari shot up in the last chapter? Find out all this, and more, in the next exciting chapter of Duality Effect! :D**


	6. And It Hits the Fan

"I think that's all of them."

Zierrah raised an eyebrow at her sister's announcement, then spun and kicked away one last varren. "Nope," she smirked, "_Now_ that's all of them."

"Always the perfectionist," Aralynn rolled her eyes. "All right, now we should probably figure out where the frack we are…" The biotic stopped short as a shot rang out and dissipated on the glowing blue surface of her shields. Immediately, the small band of warriors turned to regard the source of the gunfire.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" a researcher called out, dropping her pistol as she ambled toward the soldiers. "I thought you were a geth…or one of those varren."

"Did she just call me ugly?" Aralynn deadpanned menacingly. She snapped her fingers in a Z-formation and drawled, "Oh, _hell_ no. Garrus, hold my shotgun."

"What? No!" the researcher was quick to reply, backing away from the irate biotic and her glowing fists. "I just…I mean, it's so dark in here, and…"

"Yuh-huh," Aralynn scowled.

Zierrah stepped between the two ladies and held up her hands. "All right, let's just calm down now, okay? This poor woman is obviously panicked and didn't check if we were friendlies before she fired that shot." She turned to the woman. "Are you all right, miss-?"

"Lizbeth Baynham," the researcher replied. "And yes, I'm fine. I just stayed behind to back up data after the geth attacked. I think they might be interested in information on Species 37, the-"

"Details, details," Aralynn interrupted. "Look, can you point us in the direction of the nearest hostile or not?"

"But you really should know about the-" Lizbeth started.

Zierrah softly interrupted, "Miss Baynham, we really are in a hurry here."

"Look, I'm just trying to warn you! The-"

"I didn't hear a, 'the geth are that way, Commander' in that sentence," Aralynn sing-songed.

"Agh, fine! I give up," Lizbeth burst out, throwing her hands into the air. She held out a keycard to the two soldiers. "Just show this to the VI and it'll explain everything. Lord knows _I'm_ not going to have enough patience to do it. Go through that doorway and up the staircase."

"Thanks. Just stay put for now - we'll come back for you after we've purged the building of geth," Zierrah said. Lizbeth merely nodded and ran to find cover.

Now that they were alone, the small group looked confusedly around the room, seeing nothing but rubble and a few puddles. Cautiously, Zierrah slid down a slab of concrete and alighted onto the muddy floor. "Where _is_ that door she was talking about?" she mumbled to herself.

"Hey look, a hole!" Aralynn shouted, pointing to a blast impact in the wall. Without even waiting for acknowledgment from her teammates, she began sprinting toward it.

"Oh, not this again," Kaidan muttered as the three began running after their errant squadmate. The last time she had pulled a stunt like this – which was approximately five minutes ago – she'd managed to lead the team straight into a pack of varren.

"Stupid machine! Access encrypted files!"

The rant caused all four soldiers to halt in their steps and glance upward at the distinctly krogan voice that emanated from the upper platform.

"No, I don't want to review protocol!"

Aralynn's eyes went wide, as if a brilliant epiphany had just been revealed to her, and she whispered in awe, "My ADD. It's like an internal compass."

Zierrah rolled her eyes and pointedly signaled Aralynn to take out the hostile.

"Oh fine, I do all the freaking work around here anyway," the vanguard muttered as she broke away and crept up the stairs. A moment later, the telltale _fwoop_ of a biotic attack sounded from above…and was quickly followed by the appearance of a flailing, quickly-descending krogan.

"Get away!" Zierrah screeched, as she tackled the remnants of her squad in an attempt to avoid being squished. They barely cleared the patch of ground before the krogan impacted it; creating a spidery cobweb of fissures from its' sheer weight and velocity. Zierrah even felt herself being flung a couple inches into the air.

Aralynn peeked over the edge of the platform with a mischievous grin. "Oh, would you look at that," she commented airily. "It's raining krogan."

Zierrah wrestled free from the huddle of soldiers on the ground, looking absolutely furious. _"Ari!_" she bellowed, the force of her voice creating a slight echo through the empty corridors.

"Oh, shush. The thing charged; what was I supposed to do," Aralynn waved her off. "At any rate, you should probably get up here. The VI is starting to ramble on about mutant mind-controlling plants or some shizz, and it's spewing too much techno-babble for my inhumanly short attention span to handle."

Zierrah blinked, allowing her face to contort into an expression of utter confusion. _"What?!"_

* * *

><p>"Species 37 – the Thorian – is a sentient plant-based lifeform that resides under the colony of Zhu's Hope," the VI recited.<p>

"I'm not shocked. Why am I not shocked?" Zierrah rambled, sparing Aralynn a sideways glance. "You'd think I would be more shocked. I guess spending the last five years with you has got me pretty much acclimatized to random catastrophes. Go figure."

"I love you too, sis," Aralynn deadpanned. She turned to the VI and commanded, "Anywho, go on."

"It has unique mind-control capabilities, which is why the scientists at ExoGeni are so interested in studying it. Control over its' victims is established by releasing spores into the air, which then infect the local residents. Sensors show that the rate of infection at Zhu's Hope is near 80%."

"Of course it is," Zierrah drawled unamusedly, smacking her hand against the faceplate of her helmet. "All right, let's prioritize and handle this one crisis at a time. Get rid of the immediate geth threat, then see about rescuing the colonists from those ExoGeni idiots and their Thorian." Expecting a sarcastic comment from Aralynn – or at the very least, an exclamation of 'hell yeah!' – Zierrah was surprised to see her younger sister staring at the VI with a glazed look of concern on her face.

Aralynn glanced to her helmeted companions – all safely encased in their environment of controlled, purified air – then back at her own detached helmet, which was probably _lined_ with airborne Thorian spores by now. She blinked and let out a frustrated sigh, her lips pursed in a very un-amused fashion.

_Well, I'm fracked._

The piece of armor seemed hollow, empty, and useless as it dangled from her hand. What was the point of protecting her head from the outside, when she had probably been infecting her brain with spore-saturated air for hours now? Her hands trembled and she let the helmet slip from her grasp. She was used to fighting for survival and control…but how could she fight this? How could she possibly fight something that might sabotage her from the inside out?

_Don't you dare think like that. Remember where you are; the mission comes first, _she reminded herself harshly. _Okay, Ari, let's review. Get out of this geth-infested wasteland, then worry about the mind-controlling plant thing, _then_ head back to the Normandy and torment Joker. Easy enough. I just have to find something to focus on…_

"This sounds serious," Garrus commented. "We should warn your pilot."

_And thank you, Garrus,_ Aralynn thought. She immediately volunteered, "I'll handle it. 'Sides, I got a few choice words for that guy anyway."

She stepped away from the group and brought a hand to the comm device in her ear. "Hey, Joker," she said. "As much as I'm sure you're enjoying your time off – maybe kicking back with a drink; probably having a laugh at those of us who actually have to go out here and do our _jobs_ – you probably shouldn't crack open a window just yet. Unless, of course, you have a fondness for alien mind-control spores."

Aralynn narrowed her eyes and grinned, waiting to hear the sarcastic backlash that would follow. As irritated as she was with her pilot, she had to admit – it was fun to snark off at him and watch the reaction. Needless to say, she was a bit disappointed when she only heard static in response. The amused sneer on her face promptly gave way to a look of irritated confusion. "Flyboy!" she barked into the communicator. "Hey! Do you copy?"

The VI activated once more, "Sensory readings are showing large power fluctuations further within the ExoGeni building. This may be what is disrupting your communication signals."

"The geth dropship must be powering that forcefield we saw earlier. We've got to get in there and shut that thing down," Zierrah surmised.

An inexplicable, hollow feeling suddenly settled in Aralynn's stomach. Despite the impassive mask she kept in place, it was simply impossible to deny the numbness that was settling over her mind as she realized that they were completely and utterly alone. There would be no rescue waiting if she crashed the Mako. There would be no incoming airstrike if they were overwhelmed by enemy troops. There would be no distress beacon to activate if any of them were injured or killed by the geth. It surprised her, realizing how much she truly depended on the people she was supposed to lead. Yet, it almost made her sick to her stomach, knowing how easily that lifeline could be severed. One forcefield was all it had taken. Just like one _thresher_ _maw_ was all it had taken.

She clenched her hands, watching the blue corona flare around them as she seethed with self-loathing. She tried to push the thought away; to remind herself that this was why she _didn't_ depend on anyone, much less the weaklings that seemed to perpetually surround her. But it was no use. The scenario was just too hauntingly similar. The unknown alien lifeform, the crew in danger, the helplessness she felt at not being able to jump into action and fight tooth-and-nail to protect what was _hers…_

Her hands began to shake again - this time in fury - as she silently battled the sense of déjà vu that threatened to overcome her.

* * *

><p><em>"You have no idea how much I hate the fact that you always try to 'protect' me," Aralynn griped to the soldier next to her. Her voice was just loud enough to hear, but not so loud that the rest of their squad could eavesdrop. "Perhaps you've forgotten which one of us scored higher on the academy's combat evaluation tests, huh? It's not like I'm some freaking damsel in distress that you need to save all the time."<em>

_The soldier next to her let out a slight laugh, interlocking his hands behind his head as he walked along. "I didn't mean anything by it, Ari. I just requested a transfer to this mission cause, well, I haven't seen you in a while and…I missed you." He ran a hand through his black, spiky hair, grinning deviously as he added, "And, just to clarify, you only scored higher cause of your biotics. I would totally cream you on the shooting range…if I wasn't such a gentleman."_

_"Somebody's just begging for latrine duty, aren't they?" Aralynn muttered. "And 'requesting a transfer'? Is that what you call flooding my CO's desk with transfer requests and follow-up messages? I wouldn't be surprised if half the squad knew about us already!" She began to march faster, her armored boots kicking up clouds of red dust as they pounded the surface of the barren planet._

_"Well, they might start to suspect when you eventually change your last name to match mine," Chase deadpanned, jogging slightly to catch up with her. "As such, I just prefer to…hang around and forestall any accidents…so we can actually get to that point."_

_"And by 'forestalling accidents', you mean 'protectively hovering around me in a cute but undeniably irritating way'," Aralynn replied dryly. _

_"Very astute guess, Lieutenant Shepard," Chase grinned. He crossed his hands over his heart and pretended to swoon as he teased, "Aww, you think I'm cute."_

_Aralynn caught several other members of their squad looking at Chase's little display, and decided to do damage-control. "Shape up, Private," she barked, roughly shoving him in the shoulder for good measure. "I don't tolerate that kind of crap on my missions."_

_Chase seemed to get the idea and quickly sobered, saluting, "Ma'am, yes ma'am."_

_Aralynn turned to momentarily regard another private who scurried up. The man glanced down at a datapad and reported, "Here we are. This is the site of the colony's last known whereabouts, ma'am."_

_She squinted and looked around the barren landscape. There was nothing around but miles and miles of red dust and boulders. A few scattered pieces of debris lay here and there, but there were no other indications that this place had ever been inhabited. "That can't be right," she murmured._

_Aralynn caught sight of a glinting piece of metal near her feet, and stooped down to dust it off. It was a broken-off piece of a house frame, twisted and scored by some acidic material. Confused, she looked up to see whether there were any more. _

_There were. All around her, marines were digging in the dust to uncover pieces of debris. About half her squad now held extremely corroded, disfigured pieces of metal in their hands._

_Chase whispered in awe, "It's like…the colony was just swallowed into the ground."_

_Aralynn turned back to the other marine. "Tell everyone to keep searching. Re-calibrate the scanners to cover a longer radius, and request an aerial survey of the topography."_

_The marine replied, "I can do the first one, ma'am, but the dust storms are interfering with scanners and communications."_

_"Perfectly freaking lovely," Aralynn muttered. "Alright, let's get to it, then." She and Chase began to fan out with the rest of their squad, combing the site for any evidence as to what happened to the colony. _

_"I'm not that accident-prone, you know," she said to him, reverting back to their earlier argument. "You don't need to 'protect' me on every mission. I mean, look what we're doing now – we're digging through the freaking dirt, and our main objective is to perform communications maintenance! I ask you; what could possibly go wrong?"_

_"I dunno," Chase lightly teased her. "I bet you could make digging and communications maintenance dangerous. After all, what was it that you did on your last mission? Set a rover on fire, faceplanted in a pile of quicksand, and somehow managed to hit your commanding officer with a dead rodent?" _

_Aralynn scowled indignantly and crossed her arms. "Hey, those jungle missions can get trippy!" she protested. _

_"Admit it, I'm right," Chase said smugly._

_"I hate you," Aralynn sighed. _

_"Love you too, Ari," he replied without missing a beat._

_Aralynn's reply was cut short by a deep, low rumble that rang like thunder; echoing for miles across the arid landscape. She spun away from Chase, looking around wildly to pinpoint the invisible threat. "What was that?" she demanded._

_A marine glanced up from his omnitool and called out, "Ma'am, I'm reading a strong, localized geologic disturbance right under our current location. It's getting closer to the surface...one hundred meters…fifty…twenty…"_

_Aralynn's eyes widened in alarm, and she instinctively grasped Chase's arm as she began to sprint. "RUN!" she screamed._

_The first thresher maw burst out in a billowing shower of crimson soil._

* * *

><p>Aralynn shut her eyes and visibly shook her head, as if the simple motion could dispel the years' worth of grief and regret that had suddenly re-settled on her shoulders. Her armored fingers clenched into a tight fist as she struggled to channel those emotions into survival instinct. She had to scream. She had to fight. She had to do anything, <em>anything<em>, other than give up and let this kill her from the inside out.

She could faintly hear the VI still talking, but her mind refused to make any sense of it. She only came back to the present world when her sister finally spoke again. Perhaps it was the shred of grudging respect she held for her older sibling; perhaps it was the fact that Zierrah was the one person who could always keep her grounded and logical when she needed to be. Either way, she latched onto the familiar sound, shoving the emotions to the back of her mind as she focused on following orders.

"All right, looks like we're going to have to take down that dropship," Zierrah announced. She unholstered her sniper rifle and turned to look at each squad member in turn. "Those colonists and our crew are depending on us, and we are _not_ going to let them down. Let's lock and load, people."

"Freakin' A," Aralynn drawled, her purple eyes flashing with deadly determination. The glow surrounding her hands spread to encompass her figure, making her shine like an enigma of fury and power as she slowly unholstered her shotguns. "Come on. We've got some geth arse to kick."

* * *

><p>"Have we kicked their collective arses yet?" Aralynn panted as she collapsed against the wet, grimy wall of the staircase. "Augh, I have never seen so many freaking <em>stairs<em> in my life! Have these people never heard of elevators?" She slid down to the floor, not particularly caring that her ponytail and the back of her armor were accumulating all manner of mold and filth. It was unbelievable. She had rampaged through the majority of the building, destroying most of the hostiles before the rest of her squadmates could manage to put them in their sights...only to be defeated by _architectural oversight_, of all things.

_Yes, fear the incompetence of Prothean architects, for that alone has managed to vanquish the mighty Shepard. Sweet dookie, I'm pathetic._

After fighting through level after level of the ExoGeni building, it was almost difficult to remember that there _had _been an outside world; one where the air was cold, clean, and free of the sharp dust-and-fuel stench that seemed to permeate the destroyed headquarters. Her throat and mouth seemed to dry up from inhaling the acrid air, and the building's seemingly endless staircases weren't exactly helping matters.

Her head lolled to the side apathetically as she observed Kaidan taking a seat next to her, though he did so in a much more graceful fashion. She simply shook her head and reached up to brush the sweaty strands of hair away from her soot-stained face. There were plenty of opportunities to torment him later; she would save it for when she was less…exhausted.

Zierrah turned her head ever-so-slightly to look at her younger sister. She, too, was beginning to feel the toll of the day's events. Her legs felt numb from traversing level after level of enemy-filled ruins, and she could feel beads of sweat snaking their way through her now-frizzy hair. She managed to mask her fatigue behind a stoic expression, though she silently envied Aralynn's freedom to act as she pleased. Worry was still eating away at the base of her consciousness, as it had been ever since they'd lost contact with the Normandy. Zierrah couldn't help the way she felt about her crew. Every assignment, every mission, every new ship – each time, she couldn't help but descend on the crew like a mother bird shielding her babies under her wing. She listened to their problems, shouldered extra on-board work, and tried to made it look effortless, to boot. She wanted to command through respect; she wanted to be someone they could trust to protect them. And now, she didn't even know how they were doing; if they were okay, if they were scared, if they were hurt. It was the lack of control that truly unnerved her the most.

Still…she had her team here to think about. Yes, they were trapped in a failing structure, very much outnumbered by geth; but the team was holding the line and more. Even though they were exhausted, they continued to have hope because _she_ had hope. They were fighting tooth and nail to save their people, because Zierrah made them believe that it could be done. If she didn't stay strong for her troops, who would?

"We're almost there. Chin up, soldier," she said. As if to demonstrate, she playfully reached to the side and flicked Aralynn's chin up; eliciting a petulant death-glare in return.

Zierrah crouched down and crept over to the doorway. Her sniper rifle was already unholstered by the time she had her back pressed flat against the stone frame. "Yep, that's it," she confirmed, nodding slightly as she peered through her scope. From her vantage point, a hole in the wall revealed the distinctly-shaped ship anchored outside.

Garrus added, "There's a staircase off to the side. It's guarded by some geth, but it should make for a pretty decent sniper position. If I take down the hostiles, do you think you could make a break for it, Commander?"

"Affirmative," Zierrah replied. She swerved her scope down to examine the room beyond. "I'm counting a geth stalker, three troopers, and one shock-trooper. There's one pressurized plasma container to the side. Minimal cover."

"Ugh, this almost makes me miss Earth," Aralynn muttered under her breath. "Alright, what now?"

"Alenko, you and Aralynn are going to do a frontal assault, picking away at their shields while Garrus and I get into position. Now when I give the signal, you get into formation and take cover behind those slabs on your nine and three-"

Aralynn rolled her eyes, finally sensing that her attention span had petered out. She was exhausted, hungry, and irritated; just wanting this final battle to be over so she could check in with the Normandy and call it a day. Finally, she snapped. "Holy crap, if you want something done right…" she muttered impatiently. Sweeping her arms downward and letting a biotic barrier engulf her slight figure, she grinned and turned toward the geth-filled room.

"Shep, what are you doing?" Garrus asked suspiciously.

Aralynn did not respond. Rather, she grinned madly and charged into the room, screaming, "LEEEEEEEROY JENKINS!" She vaulted over the slabs of debris, puncturing a plasma container with one shotgun and downing a geth with the other. Spinning around, she then gripped the geth stalker with a field of biotic energy, hurling the synthetic off the wall and across the room in a shower of sparks.

Meanwhile, the rest of the squad was still staring at the spot she had vacated. "Did she just run in there?" Kaidan burst out incredulously.

"For the love of all that is good and holy, please tell me I didn't just see her run in there," Zierrah deadpanned.

"Yep, she ran in there," Garrus replied, his tone equally dry.

"And this, gentlemen, is why I never bother to make contingency plans," Zierrah ranted as she walked out into the cleared room. "Because all sound logic and military efficiency just seems to _perish_ in the black void of insanity known as my sister."

"I highly resent that comment," Aralynn retorted, already searching the surrounding lockers and terminals. "I'll have you know that I'm a _shotgun-toting_ black void of insanity. There's a difference."

Zierrah's eyes widened as a metallic stutter sounded nearby. "_Shh_," she hissed under her breath, holding up a hand to silence her sister. She ducked to the side and dragged Aralynn away from the terminal she was hacking. Rather than letting out a protest, the younger marine simply took in the dead-serious look on her sister's face and nodded in understanding. Quietly, the two crept up the staircase, making sure that their heads never bobbed above the guard-rail. The quiet, scuffling footsteps of the men could be heard right behind them.

Letting out a quiet, hollow breath, Zierrah slowly angled her head to peer through a crack in the concrete surface. The room that opened out in front of her was filled with more geth than she could see from her limited vantage point. "This is _not_ going to be easy," she breathed. Just as she was about to order her team to move back, her sharp eyes caught sight of a white panel on the other side of the room.

Zierrah motioned to the machine with her hand, "Alenko, come over here. What does that look like to you?"

A moment passed. Next to her, the restless presence of her younger sister was quietly replaced by the steady countenance of her lieutenant. He took the sniper rifle from her in one quick movement and raised the scope to eye-level. "Looks like a control room of some sort. If we can get to it, we might be able to find a way to detach the dropship."

The infiltrator next to him let out a slow, quiet sigh. "All right. We'll have to do this carefully, though. It wouldn't be a good idea to just charge in blindly…"

"I heard 'charge in blindly'," Aralynn interrupted, her voice loud enough to draw the attention of the geth below them. "You got it, boss." Ignoring the frantic hand-signals and head-shaking of her teammates, she flipped over the concrete barrier and landed in a crouch on the floor below. Her laughter pealed through the air as she lifted two bewildered synthetics in the air and flung them into their compatriots like weightless rag dolls.

A solid _thunk_ sounded next to her. She turned her head quickly enough to catch a glimpse of Kaidan, who threw a sapper off the wall and into the ground. As the two rolled behind cover to give their snipers some covering fire, Kaidan bellowed, "You never do anything by the book, do you?"

"Now you're catching on," Aralynn drawled back. She flung her arms downward to renew her biotic shields. The surge of power was like being immersed by a gentle ocean wave and letting herself be carried away on the current. It felt as if she was flying on a wind of pure electricity.

She was unstoppable.

The geth destroyer rounded the corner just as Aralynn sprung up to hurl a weaker synthetic to the ground. She saw the missile traveling toward her in slow motion; she could hear her fellow biotic's warning cry as he hunkered down behind a terminal. Her mind automatically steeled itself for the impact that would follow. _Good._

With only nanoseconds to spare, Aralynn scrambled to channel that reserve – the adrenaline, the emotion, the steely determination to survive – through the biotic amp at the base of her skull. She guided the power through her nervous system like a current, feeling it course down her shoulders, arms, hands. The azure shield arced up at in front of her just as the explosion blossomed through the air.

She was thrown back into the rubble on a gust of wind. Fear did not overtake her as she looked up defiantly at the advancing robot, gulping air through cracked lips, because she knew what would happen next.

Two concussive shots simultaneously barreled through the synthetic's core, setting off a series of chain reactions that utterly decimated the chassis. Zierrah's light tread echoed through the room as she jogged down to check on her remaining squadmates. It was quickly followed by Garrus' heavier, slower footfalls.

"Sis," Zierrah said, taking hold of Aralynn's hand and hauling her to her feet. Her heart nearly stopped when the younger woman clutched her ribs, stumbling to rest against a nearby terminal.

Aralynn merely waved her off, "I'm fine. It'll take a lot more than one stupid missile to do me in." As if to demonstrate, she wiped the soot off her cheek with an index finger and grinned. "I'll take a breather and man the comms. You go do what you have to do."

Zierrah nodded and immediately went over to the terminal at the end of the room. Her eyes roved over the controls – it appeared to be a master panel for the door above them. _The door that was conveniently blocked by one of the dropship's claws_. She grinned in triumph; it was about time they got a lucky break. "Everybody grab onto something," she announced, her hands already ghosting over the control panel.

The doors clamped shut in a shower of noise and sparks. Suddenly, the whole room shook as if overtaken by an earthquake. All noise was blocked out by the ear-rending screech of the geth dropship as it detached from the building. Rubble poured down like an unrelenting hailstorm, throwing around dust and rocks in a blizzard of debris. For a single heart-stopping moment, Zierrah feared that she had brought the millennia-old structure down.

She tried to rock and sway with the floor; to compensate for the dizzying motion. It was no use. A rock found its way under her foot and suddenly she was falling, falling…and being steadied by a pair of gentle hands.

When the world finally lay still, she cast a bewildered look up; her eyes widening as she saw Kaidan's face eclipsing the sunbeams shining in from the chinks in the roof. He was gripping her arms, holding her upright as she dangled halfway between standing and tripping backwards. He cleared his throat as he quickly levered her back up to a standing position. "Careful, ma'am," he advised, nodding at a large piece of debris that she would've certainly hit her head on. "Can't have you out of commission. If you weren't here, I'm sure your sister would've 'accidentally' left me behind on no less than five uninhabited planets by now."

As if to prove his point, Aralynn – who had seen the whole exchange from beneath the biotic barrier she had generated to protect herself and Garrus – narrowed her eyes at him and dragged an index finger across her throat. Kaidan subconsciously took a step away from Zierrah.

"_I repeat, Normandy to shore party. Anyone there? Normandy to shore party. Come on, Commander, talk to me…"_

All four soldiers glanced upward as the comm silence gave way to their pilot's frantic rant. Surprisingly, Aralynn was the first to answer the broadcast.

"Aww, you missed me," she cooed sarcastically.

"_Oh, yeah. I mean, the Normandy's just not the same without the thinly-veiled threats, the lollipop sticks and gum-wads crammed into every single inconvenient crevice aboard this ship, oh, and let's not forget the ever-dainty sight of you walking around the CIC, chugging directly from the coffee pot. Yeah, I'm real torn up, ma'am."_ There was a pause and a quiet _slurp_ on the other end as he took a long drag from the re-appropriated coffee pot. Aralynn was willing to bet that the smug idiot had even stuck a paper umbrella in there, too. "_Speaking of 'tearing up', the colonists are going _crazy _over here. They're banging on the hull, trying to claw their way inside the ship…they're freaking out."_

"Dammit, there goes the new paint job," Aralynn snapped under her breath. "Give me a visual report on the outer hull." Her omnitool _pinged_ a moment later as it displayed a hologram of the Normandy's exterior. The sleek black-and-white paint had been scored with fingernail marks from the crowd of colonists that had gathered outside. In some spots, the grey metal of the hull had even been scratched bare, pockmarked with small dents the size of fists.

Zierrah stepped in to issue the order, "Don't hurt the colonists. Just sit tight and wait until we get back."

_"Aye aye, ma'am. I-"_

"Wait a second," Aralynn hissed. She was still staring at the picture, her eyes narrowed as she focused in on the Normandy's tail-fin. "How long has _that_ been there?" she asked, pointing at a small square attached to the metal. Zierrah sidled up next to her sister and peered closely at the image. Lo and behold, there was a bumper sticker boldly declaring, "I brake for unicorns!"

The comm was conspicuously silent.

"_Joker…_" Zierrah demanded. "How long _have_ we been flying around with that on our ship?"

"_Um…since we left the Citadel?"_

Both sisters glared ahead with a decidedly unamused expression. "Permission to feed his hat to the turtles?" Aralynn asked mischievously.

Zierrah holstered her sniper rifle. "Granted."

* * *

><p>"All right, Skippy, let's recap. Why do we never allow civilians inside the Mako?" Aralynn bellowed, attempting to be heard over the frantic screaming of Lizbeth Baynham and the rhythmic <em>thunk, thunk, thunk<em> of geth being crushed under the Mako's treads.

Kaidan, who was attempting to help Zierrah comfort the panicked researcher, refused to dignify her 'tutelage' by playing along.

Without missing a beat, she added, "Okay, let's see if _Garrus_ is smart enough to know the answer! Garrus?"

Still mashing down the 'fire' button on the turret console, the turian recited easily, "We never allow civilians inside the Mako because they are loud, they are pathetically unaccustomed to your driving skillage, and they tend to ruin the upholstery."

"Ding, ding, ding!" Aralynn replied. Arraying her features into a scowl, she looked over her shoulder at the hysterical 'guest' who was currently attempting to claw her way out of the vehicle in a mad attempt at survival. She screeched, "Now will somebody _shut_ _her_ _up?_ I can't drive with all this racket!"

Kaidan deadpanned, "No offense, ma'am, but you can't drive even when it's perfectly quiet."

Aralynn cheerily announced, "Just so you know, you are now so high on my mental blacklist that I have to create a completely _new_ mental blacklist just for you. And for therapeutic purposes, I will most likely re-create it in real life and seal it inside a flaming bag of turtle crap. Doesn't that sound just _lovely?_"

"_Watch the road!_" Zierrah shrieked, pointing to a sharp turn that had suddenly materialized in front of them. It was no use; Aralynn failed to turn in time, causing the vehicle's treads to shift up onto the wall. With no small amount of screaming, the rover slingshot around the 180-degree turn and skidded into a pile of debris.

As the vehicle jolted to a stop, the miraculously still-functioning radio flickered to life. "This is Julia Baynham, can anybody read me?"

The researcher peeled her face away from where it had become lodged in the back of Aralynn's headrest. "That's my mom!" she exclaimed, popping the hatch and scrambling out toward the source of the signal.

"No, don't go, hysterical researcher," Aralynn droned sarcastically. With renewed vigor, she shifted the Mako back into gear and declared, "Oh well, on to deal with the Thorian!"

"_Ari!_" Zierrah snapped.

Aralynn heaved a dramatic sigh and dutifully shifted the Mako back into its' parking gear.

* * *

><p>"You can't just re-purpose us, Jeong! This is a human colony!"<p>

Zierrah valiantly resisted the urge to facepalm as she trudged down into the colonists' safehouse. It seemed that despite her best efforts, everything and every_one_ seemed to spiral out of control the moment she turned her back. She cocked an eyebrow as she took in the pistol that the distraught supervisor was waving around. _And here we go with the freeing of the hostages and the negotiating with crazies_, she sighed inwardly. Raising her own firearm, she gritted out, "All right, what did we miss?"

"Ah, Shepard," Jeong drawled condescendingly. "I've seen the ExoGeni reports about you. I appreciate your assistance here, but this isn't the Skyllian Blitz. Your heroics are not necessary."

"Speak for yourself," Aralynn snapped. She stepped up so that she was standing back-to-back with Zierrah, mirroring her older sister's pose with her own shotgun. "What I see here is a bunch of terrified colonists and a man who should really get around to standing down. _Now._"

"This doesn't have to end badly," Zierrah added, trying to mitigate her sister's demanding tone. "Just put the pistol down, and we'll talk."

"It's not that easy!" Jeong insisted. "I've just got a wire from the company. They want this place purged. There are certain...resources...on this world that we have to protect!"

Aralynn blinked, clearly unimpressed. "Did you hear something? Cause all I heard was, 'blah, blah, blah, I'm going to continue bothering these colonists despite the shotgun-toting Spectre in my face.'" She huffed an impatient sigh. "Sweet dookie, man, will you take a look around you? You're a bean counter. We're Spectres. Not exactly good odds there, bub."

Jeong seemed to deflate a little. "I guess you're right..."

Zierrah took the opportunity to try and find a diplomatic solution. With the tense caution of a skilled negotiator, she walked up to the distraught man and pushed away the pistol. "Look, we can find a mutually beneficial solution here. My team and I are already on our way to take care of the Thorian. After it's gone, you can just tell your bosses that it was destroyed by the geth, and then you can get your people out of here safely." Her tone was gentle, but it had that undercurrent of power that indicated there would be no room for negotiation.

At length, Jeong had finally acquiesced and Baynham, after explaining the biological weaknesses of the Thorian, had gifted the team with special gas-grenades to combat the Thorian with.

"So," Zierrah clapped her hands together, "Now that we've got the situation resolved – _no, I see you edging toward that pistol, Jeong; you get back in your time-out corner_ – are we ready to head out?"

"Oh, sure," Aralynn deadpanned, hefting her shotgun up over her shoulder. "I mean, we're only about to play with clouds of toxic nerve gas. What could possibly go wrong?"

Kaidan interrupted, "Didn't you hear Dr. Baynham? It'll only affect plants."

"No, I did _not_ hear her, because I was too busy trying to explain why playing with clouds of nerve gas is a royally stupid idea no matter _what_ it's supposed to affect!" she roared.

"Anything that can give those colonists a second chance," Zierrah said pointedly. If there was one thing that both sisters could agree on, it was that their job was ultimately to protect innocent civilians...and that they were _very_ good at doing their job.

"Fine," Aralynn growled in acquiescence. "But if I end up sprouting a third arm or something as a side effect of wading through clouds of this stuff, I demand full compensation in the form of cherry-flavored lollipops."

Zierrah shrugged, "Fair enough."

* * *

><p>The Mako screeched to a halt amidst the <em>thunk<em> of several beings impacting the metal interior and various, muffled exclamations of protest. All was still on the ancient highway as the four soldiers piled out of the rover and assembled on the crumbling asphalt.

"Oh come on, you bunch of babies. It wasn't that bad," Aralynn derided them as she hopped to the ground.

"Uh, sis?" Zierrah asked. She held up one of the handles that had been attached above the Mako's passenger seats. It had come off in the resulting chaos of Aralynn's 'driving'. "If somebody accidentally tears off the 'oh, crap' bar while you're driving, it's pretty fricking bad."

"I think I've got whiplash again," Kaidan murmured, cradling the back of his neck with the palm of his hand.

"That's nothing," Garrus countered, "I'm pretty sure a piece of my fringe actually chipped off when we rolled over that last chunk of debris."

"Oh, well, excuse me," Aralynn threw up her hands in frustration. "Next time we're being shot at by geth, I'll try and find a conveniently-placed patch of daisies to drive through so I don't upset your _delicate countenances_." As she proceeded to roll her eyes, she caught a glimpse of a suspicious-looking, sinewy figure crouched by the garage door.

"Was that there before?" Kaidan observed.

Zierrah walked up to it slowly. "I don't think so..."

The group watched with mixed horror and fascination as the humanoid unfurled, revealing skeletal features, claw-like talons, and black, empty sockets. For a few moments, the soldiers and the monster just stared at each other in what almost seemed like an awkward silence.

"_Hello_ there, gorgeous," Aralynn muttered sarcastically. "Alenko. It would seem that we've found your long-lost, better-looking twin brother."

Any further attempts at banter were quickly forestalled, as the creature let out an ear-piercing shriek and charged. Aralynn promptly leveled her shotgun and dispatched the monster before it had a chance to attack.

"Holy shizz," Zierrah muttered, kneeling down to inspect the creature. "This looks almost like a…like a…"

"A zombie," Aralynn finished, her voice quiet with awe.

"It would appear so," Garrus noted. "I mean, there's no way that thing was ever a colonist, Thorian or no."

"This is so _cool_!" Aralynn shrieked in an uncharacteristically childish display of glee. As she threw her arms into the air, however, she failed to notice that her fist had accidentally knocked against the door-release for the garage. Her head quickly snapped up as the metal slab began to retract with a decidedly un-stealthy grating noise. When, at last, the first few rays of light illuminated the stone interior, the soldier blanched; half in fear and half in fangirlish glee. A small battalion of plant-zombies were facing the door, staring at the four lone soldiers with the same awkward, blank silence as their predecessor. As if to make matters even worse, a small squad of colonists peeked over the makeshift barriers behind the horde and trained their weapons on the door as well.

Zierrah ran a hand down her face in exasperation. "You know what; we are just _never_ going to leave the ship unless it's Sunday, or Tuesday, or _any other fracking day that isn't Monday._"

Almost as if they were cued, the nearly-solid wall of hostiles rushed toward them.

Aralynn stepped up to the forefront, shoving her arms forward with an almighty yell. About ten of the ghastly creatures were promptly thrown into the air; left to levitate for a bit before they came crashing down to the garage floor. Zierrah took advantage of the distraction to skirt to the side, palming a concussion grenade into each hand. Armor ignited against concrete as she dropped into a slide.

The metal spheres rolled from her hands, fluidly skirting along the floor's smooth surface as their deliverer finally began to lose her momentum. She was already two steps ahead. She poised her foot just so that she could spring away and dart for cover the moment she skidded to a stop. Her now-empty hands trailed along the stone floor like a bird skimming over the ocean. Hawk-like eyes never left the charges even as they rolled to a stop; nestled inconspicuously against the soles of the colonists' boots. All of this came together so that when the green clouds finally billowed out, Zierrah was left calmly observing from her low crouch against the floor.

It took but a moment for her to note that the colonists were all safely asleep. And all in an orderly line, no less. _Oh, I am good_, she silently smirked to herself.

Zierrah angled her head to the side, almost dreading the chaos that would be Aralynn's half of the battlefield. The scene was even worse than she'd imagined. The garage was more like a madhouse, with crates, canisters, and Thorian creepers alike looping through the air in a massive biotic field. The vanguard had led her two companions right into the middle of the horde, keeping the majority at bay with a cyclone of throw fields and warp attacks while the two men frantically attempted to fire at them all in time. All the sheer chaos made her want to grip the very scene itself and right it into something crisper, cleaner, systematic; something she could work with. Her nerves singing with raw tension, she quickly crept over to the concrete divider and propped her sniper rifle on the flat surface.

Two creatures broke past the trio's line of defense and lunged for Aralynn's turned back. Just as she watched their talons hook onto the plates of her younger sister's armor, something coiled and _snapped_ within Zierrah's mind. Her finger tapped down once, twice, rewarding her shoulder with the jarring recoil that came with every shot. Relief flooded her veins as the creatures fell away with the thunderous noise. Her wrist flicked to the left, then to the right, heart thudding with the ever-present rhythm of coil, snap, fire, release.

Soon enough, only her companions were visible through the scope. Just as she had fallen into the familiar lull, she gently descended back to reality with a smooth, momentary blink of the eye. The rifle retracted into her hand and was guided back into its holster as she fluidly rose to her feet.

"Ari," Zierrah called out. "You guys okay?"

The younger woman grinned up at her; the wide smile splitting the sheen of goo and sweat that had aggregated on her youthful face. "Better than okay!" Aralynn shouted back. She raised her still-glowing fists and screamed to the heavens, "I am Aralynn G. Shepard, slayer of zombies, and this is_ the best fracking day of my life!"_

Zierrah's eyes crinkled, peals of quiet laughter tumbling from her smiling mouth as she surveyed the scene before her. "Well, it's not over yet," she nodded her head toward the elevator. "Come on, sis, we've got a colony to save."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Finally done! :D And let's not forget a huge thank you to writtenrhythm -not only for beta reading this chapter, but also for drawing a series of awesome Duality Effect fan art which you should totally go and check out on my profile. ;D There are portraits of Ari and Z, and also an uber-cute drawing of chibi-Aralynn skipping down a road of cherry lollipops.**

**Also, new cover! Thanks to the new features on , you can now click on that image up there and see what Ari and Z look like. Aralynn is on the left, Zierrah is on the right.**

**Alrighty, now about the chapter. It was so much fun to finally address all the little rants I've made up about the Feros level. Like all the stairs...and THAT HOLE. That hole you have to find in order to continue through the level, but is impossible to find unless you're randomly exploring the room like you have ADD (or are Aralynn). WHY, BIOWARE? WHY.**

**Speaking of Aralynn, here we start to see a bit of the love-hate thing she's got going on with Joker. It's existed ever since my very first playthrough of Mass Effect, when she lost contact with the Normandy and I immediately thought, "Ooh, no contact with the ship and a mysterious, possibly deadly alien creature. Just like Akuze! Even though she looks all calm, I bet she's totally freaking out and in the back of her mind, she wishes he could crack a joke to cheer her up." :3 She's got a soft spot for funny, confident guys, as you can probably tell from the Akuze flashback with her late fiancee. Think that'll affect her revenge which is absolutely coming next chapter? **

**I've already got the revenge bit...and the whole chapter, really...written out, but let's hear some of your theories on what her revenge will be. Be specific! Lots of details! :D Whoever guesses right gets mentioned in the author's note of the next chapter.**

**Also, you may notice that there were quite a few turtle references in this chapter.**

**I like turtles. :3**

**Coming up next: Boss battle with the Thorian, Ari's revenge, and a little more Akuze angst.**** The next chapter is already done and beta'd, so expect it anywhere from a few days to a week from now. Updates are kind of intermittent, but I'm trying to write funny stuff as fast as possible now after seeing all the reviews, faves, and alerts from the last few chapters. This was originally started just for the lulz, so I was surprised to see how much people liked it...this story's gotten more reviews, faves, and alerts in five chapters than my KotOR story got in twenty. O_o And I am so, so happy to have your support! It just makes my day whenever I get even a little bit of feedback to this story, and it's what inspired me to pick up writing it again after so many months of hiatus...ness... So thank you, my dear readers. :3**


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